Nermie likes to blog

As you can see here…while I am catching up on reading blogs; Nermie enjoys being as close as possible and hanging with me!!! 

Haha!!!

He was recently diagnosed with diabetes but he’s a champ getting his shots twice a day. I have to give him three units in the morning and three units at night. He appears to be gaining weight and getting better slowly. 

Anytime he wants to chill with me he’s welcome!

Good Cry Anyone?

Well not gonna lie…

Today is not what I would call the best day ever.

First thing this morning I realized that both my dermatologist and my medicine are not covered under my new insurance plan. So that’s lovely. I see a dermatologist yearly because I have psoriatic arthritis. The psoriasis piece has been really controlled with Stelara. Needless to say, Stelara and my doctor are both not covered under my new plan. So I need to research and find a new doctor, have all of my patient records sent to them and then find a new med for my psoriasis. 

Then I took the med dosage Calc test. You have to get a 92% to pass (you can miss two). It didn’t go well at all. Thank goodness they give us one more try to re-take the test. I messed up the simplest thing. The wording threw me off. The question was asking for a flow rate on an electronic pump and for some reason I labeled them gtt/min instead of ml/hr and there were three in a row. You can only miss two and I missed all three of those.  Pretty much spent the afternoon crying about that one. Now I’m over it and I’m ready to retake it because I know what I did wrong and as frustrating as it is it was, it was my own stupid mistake.

In the afternoon it started pouring down rain here in Pittsburgh. It was super dark outside and everything was just super gloomy all day here.

Around dinner time I took Nermal (my cat) in for his two week vet check for his diabetes. His numbers went down from close to 800 to around 420. The vet said that was great but he’s only gained an ounce. So we’re bumping him up to two units in the morning and three units at night. We will do that for a week and if I still notice he’s peeing a lot I’m supposed to bump it up to three units in the morning and three units at night.

Here’s the little cutie sleeping in his cat tree cube…

When I see it written here it doesn’t seem like it should have been such a great catastrophe but it certainly felt like one today. I was just super sad and super overwhelmed in waves. I don’t know if anyone else has had a day like this but it’s almost like waiting for the other shoe to drop.

I just wanted to check in because you’ve all been so super supportive about my nursing decision and although I really tried and studied hard I missed three stupid questions. I realize now it’s all good and I’ll do better on my next retake.

I need to go to bed now and hopefully I will have a better restart tomorrow. I am going to a conference tomorrow that I’m super excited about so I will send a whole bunch of pictures this weekend.  Thank us I have an amazing responsible cat sitter that I trust with my cats lives. She loves my cats as much as I do. She’s coming to take care of all my babies and Nermal’s shots over the weekend. It’s a lot of work so she is definitely a saint. So that’s a bright spot! 

Hugs to each and everyone of you… Thanks for being there when I need to talk these things out. You guys are another bright spot!! Hugs!

Ever have one of those days when things one after the other just keep going wrong? Ever have a day where you just feel overwhelmed? Ever have a day where the smallest thing goes wrong and it feels huge? Ever have a day when you just needed to have a good cry?

Stay safe out there!

Nermie update

Hi everyone! I wanted to do a quick post and explain to everyone how things went at the vet today. 

I talked to two people last night that really helped me. The first was a cat rescue lady in my area. You might remember when we rescued the kittens we found in the woods here; and she was the one who helped us with that. Her name is Margo and she is phenomenal with cat rescue! I also talked to a friend from high school who dealt with a cat with diabetes. She explained how she was able to manage everything and made me feel much better about the situation. They both gave me fantastic tips and tricks to use as well. Also, thank you everyone that commented with their experiences and prayers!! They were soo appreciated!!!

So back to the update…the vet was fantastic… Not that I didn’t always know he was… But they were so amazing today!

I got to my appointment with a huge list of questions… How do I manage this with other cats in the house, do I have to put everyone on only wet food, how many times a day do I do the shots, what if he runs and hides from me every time it’s shot time, how can I afford this while going to school with no income, etc. - I just had so many questions swirling in my head. 

They gave me all the information necessary to make a decision. He explained how simple and doable it is going to be and at this point I believe him. They are going to be available at all times for any questions and issues. They gave him 3 units of insulin before we left the vet and my instructions are to start tomorrow morning and give him 2 units in the morning and 2 units at night (along with his special diabetic food) for the next two weeks. Hopefully this will bring down his level. He was close to 800 when his blood work came back so the vet believes it will be at least two weeks before it can get down to a more manageable level. 

I have an appointment scheduled in two weeks to do a glucose check and make sure his numbers are back near normal or at least heading that way. At that time we’re going to add in something for the infection he has (he has elevated white blood cell counts) but the vet doesn’t even wanna touch that until his glucose numbers come down.

Here is what we went home with…

Special diabetic food from the vet. My vet charged about $2.25 per can and when I checked chewy it was $2.17 so no much savings to get elsewhere. He will get hopefully two cans of his a day and start gaining weight back.

Here are the syringes…I am in nursing school and these are the tiniest needles I have ever seen. When they gave him the shot at the vets he didn’t even flinch. Hopefully that keeps up!

Here is the insulin … super pricy but it lasts a long time refrigerated. It is about $135 and it should be enough for the next three months if his dose of 2 units / 2 times a day remains the same.

And here is my sweet little boy Nermal!!! This is his second major heath scare in his 6 years of life and hopefully he can improve and continue to live a long and happy life!! Love that sweet face!!!!


Thank you again for being so supportive and helpful on my last post! Prayers are still welcome!!!

As with the previous post- any experience with diabetic pets is welcome!! 

So many hugs to all of you!!!

Please help…experience wanted

Serious pose here and really looking for some words of advice.

My cat had been sick with what I thought was a cat cold for a few months now. I took him to the vet and he gave him an antibiotic and some eyedrops. I thought it cleared up but then it appeared to come back again. 

I took him to the vet today and the vet ran a ton of tests. He was super concerned because Nermal lost 4 pounds in the past three months. The vet just called me and it turns out he is a diabetic. The vet said his numbers were so high over 800 that had I not brought him in he may have passed away within a few weeks. I had no idea he was even that sick… He wasn’t acting sick at all - he was eating and drinking and playing like normal.

I’m taking him back to the vet tomorrow to find out what to do to get his numbers under control. This is overwhelming and terrifying! I currently have no income because I’m going to nursing school and I’m petrified of how much this is going to cost me. I also feel like I’m torturing my cat giving him shots twice a day.

I’m hoping anyone out there has advice on this. If you have dealt with it or have a friend that has dealt with it or have any advice at all. Right now I’m just petrified and I don’t know what all this is going to entail. I don’t wanna torture my cat to keep him alive for another year if he’s suffering. 

If you know me at all you know I absolutely love my cats and they are my world!!!

Any help or experience is so welcome right now! Also, any prayers would be lovely because for some strange reason I am super scared and super sad!

Hugs!

It's the Barn Life for Us - YAY

Happy Monday and happy, happy, happy cat update!!!!!! This is a very cat heavy post - the whole thing really - so if you don't like cats or feral cats you may want to skip to the end! HA HA!

On Thursday I worked with the Pittsburgh Homeless Cat and Pittsburgh Feral Cat Management Team worker Margo to catch our four kitties in the woods near my home. SHE IS AMAZING! She does this all over Pittsburgh to help save, heal and relocate (in some instances) ferals and injured ferals.

It went so smoothly it was truly AMAZING! She is going straight to Heaven for all she does for these animals!

So, she showed up and we set up three traps right in front of their house. She the amazing little house they made??? The food bowls are setting right out front of the front door. They also have a back exit for quick escape!!! I worried what would happen when they condo lawn people had to dump more crush there...they may be crushed!

So, like I said we took three traps and put a piece of cardboard on the bottom. We smeared it with tuna and then took a paper bowl and filled it with sardines in oil. Then we set the traps! The whole time it is raining so hard so I thought there was no way these cats woudl go in this tiny metal area to get the sardines...well, I was wrong!!!! Very wrong.  You can see the three traps in the photo below.

We walked away back to our cars for five minutes and by the time we walked back we had already caught two!! We caught the grey one and fluffy one first. Gloria calls them Buttons and Queenie.

 The traps close very slowly so they were both still eating as they had not realized they were even trapped yet! As soon as they saw us and realized they could not run away, they went NUTS!! It was super sad but we threw large sheets over the top of the traps and they immediately started calming down. We then took them to Margo's car so they were safe and warm in the back. She lines the back of her car with pee pads so they can pee in the trap and not have it everywhere!!!

We went back and set the fourth trap and walked up to my house to wait and have coffee. We waited 1/2 hour and went back down; we caught the third!! So we took him to Margo's car.

She had an appointment that day so she had to leave. I was asked to check the trap every half hour and just bring the trap with the cat into the condo when I got the fourth. Margo was coming by later that night to get the final cat.

Within the first 1/2 hour check - I walked down and we got the forth! We had not see it all day so I think it was out hunting and came home like "Hello...Hello...where did everyone go???" LOL! At least they got a great sardine meal!!!

So ...he he is in our condo hallway on cardboard and pee pads! HA!

I had to use my snuggie to cover the cage as I ran out of extra sheets! HA HA! It's okay - now that I am menopausal I don't need any more warmth!! HA! Here is a peek at the last holdout -Buttons!!! Gloria calls him Mr. Independent since he was always out and about when she would arrive everyday! Fitting since he was the last one we caught! He was not a happy camper when I peeked in...hissy little guy! HA HA!

So below is a close up of all the sweeties the morning before we caught them!!!! The fluffy one on the left is Queenie (She was the first to be caught in the traps and it turns out she is the only girl of the bunch!!!!).  Hunkered in the middle is Blacky (He is the third one caught and is confirmed to be a boy). The tuxedo cat on the far right is Buttons (He was the last one caught and is the one in the trap in the picture above. He is confirmed to be a boy).

Last, but definitely not least, is Boots (He was the second one caught and is a confirmed boy also!!!) This is the guy that loves Gloria and would run out when she came to feed them and let her pet him!!!

So, they were all caught and then taken to be spayed/neutered the next day by Margo. She said they all did great! Queenie was not pregnant (we were worried about that as she is really fluffy). They were all given meds for worms, rabies, etc and all checked out with clean bills of health! YAY! So while Margo worked on the plan to release back into the woods on Sunday - I began my pleading on Social Media for a barn that needed cats! I messages the lady that I got my barn kittens from and asked her if she needed them.She said she had a friend with a farm that was looking for barn cats to help out with their mice problem! YAY!!! I messaged her and she loved the idea of having them come live in her barn! YIPPEE!

So, we are all set! They have had a few days to hang out and recover a little and we will be taking them to the barn to get them all set up on Tuesday night! SO happy they get to live a fun and warm life at a large farm in Washington County!!! For the first few weeks they will live in cages so they get used to farm noises and understand that this is their home and then the farm owner will release them to live free in and around the barn! BIG Thank you to Shari for welcoming our babies into her farm!!!!

So that is the latest cat update! Also, I am so happy we got them on the rainy day we did because this happened the next morning...

I would have hated to know they were out in the freezing snow!!!

Thank you all for your kind words and prayers for the cat situation! No doubt it helped with finding the barn and the really record time trapping of the four sweeties!!! You guys rock!

 Check this out...a beautiful pair of cardinals that have been hanging out near the bird feeder on my porch!!! Sooo pretty!!!!

See them?!?! The Mom is on the branches right below the Dad!!!! Sooo pretty!!! The cats love watching them also! HA HA! To be honest, the bird feeder is really like cat entertainment at my home! LOL!

Onto the dog bite update...The hearing is Wednesday so I will let you know how that all goes. 

Thank you all for your undying support and kind words...I truly think it helped wit the super quick trapping and success of everything cat related! I do not know what I woudl do without the support I get from this blog!

I hope everyone has a fantastic week - hugs to you all!

How was your weekend? 

 

Just Another Wednesday

Happy Tuesday Wednesday everyone!!! Wow! It is hump day and I am calling it Tuesday! 

Can you tell I did not sleep at all last night??? It is going to be a long day!! UGH!

It is another lovely, dark day in the Burgh this morning and I am praying for sunshine! I think I may need to go tanning soon. UGH! 

I mentioned yesterday to someone that my cat is obsessed with the fish tank.This obsession comes and goes. It is really strange. For months he will ignore it and then all the sudden he will not leave it alone!! This was him after work last night! HA! He would not get off and leave the fish alone! HA!

"I know I can catch it!!!"

"Mom, what is the big deal if I want to sit on top of the tank????"

Carzy crazy cat! He did this a lot when he was little which is how he got the name Trouble but it comes and goes...very weird!!!

So we found this adorable colony of cats near our condo building and it looks like we are going to attempt and catch and neuter/spay if possible this Thursday. I am getting all the help from Pittsburgh Homeless Cat Management Team. I promise to document the whole thing. These little guys are girls are super cute and I can not wait to see them up close!  If the cats are friendly, I think the Pittsburgh Homeless Cat Management Team will try to find them indoor homes which I would love!! If they are not friendly then they will release them back to where we found them after the spay and neuters heal.  It kills me to think of anything suffering outside although they have done very well so far out there! We will find out soon!  

Lastly!!! I FINALLY have an update on the dog bite situation! 

As far as the county is concerned; the hearing is next week (the 12th) at the magistrate for the bite, my prescription cost which they refused to pay ($10) and the fact that the dog was not registered or up to date on shots. It will be a hefty fine for them I think.  

Also, as far as the condo board is concerned...The condo board sent them two letters requesting they re-home the dog since it bit a resident or they would be fined. They kept the dog anyway. Their fines are now up to $1500 and then next step was the condo boards lawyer sent them a letter to re-home the dog (by the 22nd of January) or we are filing in court. So we are filing in court. They actually called the lawyer on the 29th and said they re-homed the dog but the lawyer said it is too late. So off to another court date we go. The dog is definitely still there...some of my neighbors have seen it....so yet another lie. I just REALLY wish they would move but no chance! 

They will harass the building residents for years to come I am sure!! UGH!

But I promise to keep you all posted on that also!

Nothing super exciting here...just life with a few ups and downs...

I hope everyone has a great day - HUGS to you all!

Picture Day 3

Howdy!!!
Today I think I will post another pic of food! Seems like a trend, hugh?

I worked from home in the AM and attended a memorial service for a good friends mother at 10:30 and then drove into work for the afternoon.

Nancy Ziegler Ballard went home to Jesus last week and her memorial was today at St. Louise DeMarillac.

I love that church! It is the church we attended my whole life and the church I was married in (loooooooonnnnnnnnnggggg story) and it was nice to go back today to see Kimmy, her family and her girls even though not under the best of circumstances!

Anyway, I was going to get a picture of that church for my post today and thought maybe that would not be a good idea....little scarrrrryyyy - some crazy lady in the parking lot taking pics!! LOL

So - my post will be my lunch! I stopped at our work cafeteria and got a speciality slice of pizza on my way into the office!!!!! 6 points and sooooooo worth it!! It is whole wheat crust and tomato and basil and mozzerella cheese!!! YUM!!!!!!!!

And the other pic, WOW two today - is my precious kitten Angelica (Angel) - she was hanging on my knee as I was putting my shoes on to leave this AM for the funeral so I grabbed a pic of her cute little angelic face on my way out the door!!!!!!! Soooooooo cute!

Love ya all - have a great Wednesday!!!!!!!!