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I think they're friends again!

In other news, influenza sucks.
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Our cats have been acting up. They didn't like us going on honeymoon and Puck started spraying to mark his territory again, and got really anxious. Loki (according to the vet) got confused by this signal and last night they had the worst fight I've ever witnessed between cats. They drew blood from each other (and from me when I tried to separate them) and we had to shut Puck up in the study overnight so Loki couldn't get to him.

Today we took them to the vet (cause, y'know, we've got so much spare time at the moment...) and Kathy checked them over. Puck is back on Clovicalm (kitty valium) and we have two Feliway diffusers going, one upstairs and one down. We're to watch Loki and if he continues to attack Puck in a really violent way (they're similarly aged cats of the same sex living in a relatively small space- they fight all the time, never before like this though) Loki will have to be put on Prozac. Also if we are out we have to separate them for the next few weeks, so at least one of them will have to be in the study a LOT over the next few days while we are at Seamus' father's funeral and with family. We'll rotate them of course. But it will still suck.

Kathy says it's possible Puck will always have to be on Clovicalm if this is his reaction to a change in lifestyle, especially such a minor one (it's not like we boarded them at a cattery while we went away, Anna very graciously agreed to move in to our house while we were away- they know and like her, they never even missed a meal). This will be a bugger, because he didn't react that well to it side effects-wise, he got very fat and quite anxious about food, as well as being (even more) lazy. However it will be better to have a fat happy cat who has the munchies than a scared unhappy cat at a healthy weight. We will definitely have to put BOTH of them on Clovicalm for at least a month before we move house (which will happen some time in the next two years) and have Feliway saturating the new house, and probably we'll have to knock them out for the journey...

Diffucult, difficult little boyos.
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Yesterday was awesome.

Woke up earlyish for a non-work day, hit the shower, shovelled some bircher museli down the gullet and walked down Macaulay Road to meet the lovely [livejournal.com profile] vivienne_aster for coffee at Elevenses.

These days when I say I'm meeting someone for coffee what I actually mean is "generic non-alcoholic beverage- usually warm" becaue for some reason coffe these days makes me feel ill. So I sat with my pot of tea and Kate had her coffee and we chatted for an hour or so until [livejournal.com profile] mc_shamo came down and picked me up. We made a quick stop for supplies at SAfeway then headed to the zoo.

The last time I went to Melbourne Zoo the animals were still in the little cages. I was really really glad to see them in proper sized enclosures that mimicked their habitats in the wild. I think my favourites were the orang-utans, though the gorillas were also pretty cool. Since it was such a warm day most of the animals were keeping cool by sleeping in the shade. The Canadian brown bear looked like he was having a good time. He'd got into the water in his enclosure and was swimming about, throwing himself on his back over and over. Oh! And a meer cat tried to dig his way to freedom, but was stopped by concrete once he hit the side on his enclosure. We picnicked near the carosul and watched the penguins playing.

We had a look at the zoo's Sustainability information and discovered you can actually buy... well... they've politely called it "Zoo-Gro" but I think it's probably better known by the name we gave it of "Zoo Poo." We bought a large bag of it for a our front lawn, soil enriched with pygmy hippo and monkey poo here we come, exotic!

When we left I still had a bit over an hour before I had to be anywhere, and we were both flagging a bit, so we decided to continue with the animal theme and have coffee at Animal Orchestra near uni, then we walked to Lygon court so I could check out the new EcoWear shop. I was very restrained (mainly cos I'm broke) and walked out only with a pair of fisherman's pants and a cotton bag to put them in. Definitely saw somethings I want when I'm more flush with cash though!

Seamus dropped me off in the city where I met up with [livejournal.com profile] cows_might_fly to do some of the last minute shopping for her wedding and generally catch up, which was stacks of fun. We caught the tram together and then I walked the rest of the way home. Seamus texted to ask if I was still in the city since he and [livejournal.com profile] rin_tin_tin_ were there for rock climbing and wanted to say hi, but as I was ten minutes from home I declined.

Since he is awesome Seamus had set dinner marinating before he'd left in the morning, so all I had to do was bung it in the oven and collapse infront of the television for an hour (Glee- I'm hardly ever home when it's on, but if I am it's enjoyable trash). I decided to have a bath to soothe my muscles (the day before I'd done spin and balance at the gym, then I'd walked about 6 hours all up including the zoo and the city) with lavender and bath salts. Yum.

Seamus came home while I was in the bath, ate his dinner, then suggested we go out and get some Mountain Goat and drink it in the backyard since the weather was so nice. I thought this sounded great, so put off gaoing to bed in order to do it.

When we'd sat ourselves down in the backyard we heard plaintative whinging mewing from inside. So I got up, got Loki's harness and leash and let him come out for an explore. Puck hates the harness and freaks out when it's put on him, so he doesn't come outside at all, but Loki doesn't mind it, I think his curiosity overrides any discomfort!

It was such a nice, relaxing day, without being a bludge day physically. The original plan was to go to Healesville Sanctuary, then I wrecked the car and we had to opt for a slightly more frugal microbreak, but I don't think the day could have been any more perfect any other way.
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Loki had to go back to the vet again. Poor little dude. He is okay, but I was warned quite gently that he may not be a terrifically long lived cat. He may only be around for a few years (if anything else goes wrong with him they can't operate again- too much scar tissue and trauma ad so forth)

But on the bright side he right now he is happy and healthy and purring on my lap. :-)

Now how'm I going to get up and cook with this little guy wanting attention?:

Snuggles!
Scritches
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Write essay
Hang washing
Pick up Loki from vet (again... sigh, 90% sure he is fine)
Do enough dishes that we're not eating with our fingers tonight
If time: research pubs that let you have functions for free if you use their booze
Make fabulous dinner
Pick up [livejournal.com profile] mc_shamo from the dress rehearsal
(Hopefully) Feel a bit better (have horrid horrid cold and have had to take today off work)
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This is the story of how I got a $140 jacket for $20.

I went inot ISKA yesterday, the highpoint store. I went to Highpoint as I have noticed that the Highpoint store often has mach better sales and much better items in their sales than the Carlton store- probably not too surprising considering the different socio-economic factors. Also I needed teaspoons and there is a Big W in Highpoint, there is not a Big W on Lygon St.

My original idea was to purchase a long winter skirt, alas these appear not to exist this season (mid calf my arse, I want the hem to brush the toes of my docs!) I then saw this really lovely high collared black jacket, handmade and fitted. More to the point, fitted for someone like me with broad shoulders and a small waist. It was marked down from $140 to $50, and I had the $30 gift voucher [livejournal.com profile] vivienne_aster had very kindly gifted me. There for i paid $20 for a very lovely jacket that I'm sure I will practically live in this winter.

And for those of you not at all interested in clothes or bargains, here is a kitten:

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Still on for tonight, as Loki is recovering well (and could probably do with being left alone).

See y'all there!
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Just a quick note. Loki came through okay, the surgeon has stapled Loki's tummy to his abdomen in the hopes it stops it happening again.

He is home and seems to be in pain (and disoriented and scared), but he will be okay.

We're breaking the new rule about having kittens in the bedroom to take care of him overnight.

Not completely out of the woods, but can see daylight :-)
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Today I was supposed to:

Go Shopping
Have breakfast
Pack away shopping
Do a lot of housework (this included mopping and scrubbing)
Make a few meals for later in the week
Read book for uni
Deal with washed clothes

Today I:

Went shopping
Had breakfast
Took Loki to the vet
Packed away shopping
Worried a lot
Made rum'n'raisin brownies in an attempt to stop worrying.

Ah well.
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Just got a call from Sam the Surgeon. He's going to do the operation now. It carries a little more risk than last time but he thinks he can get Loki through it. Depending on how it goes Loki will either go to the animal hospital or come home tonight to be watched over by us.

Sam said Loki is okay right now, he's not panicking and he's stable.

Sam is also only charging us $300. I'm not sure why it's so little but I'm grateful!

I love my Loki bear.

Puck is being very affectionate today.

Well Fuck

Apr. 23rd, 2009 11:43 am
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Loki's hernia is back. Apparently it is an extremely rare occurrence, the first case the vet has ever seen of this happening.

So he needs the surgery again and the insurance won't cover it (pre-existing condition). The surgery carries all the same risks as last time too. I'm so scared I'm going to lose him. Kathie the vet is taking him down to Sam the Surgeon and will call me and let me know what I need to do.

We only just finished paying off the last lot on Tuesday, then I rang and proudly canceled the card, I just rang again and they won't uncancel it, so I'm not quite sure how this is going to work. I hope I can re-apply. I really wish I could go back in time to before the first time and tell myself all about pet insurance. Then I wouldn't be worried about the financial side and also wouldn't be feeling guilty for worrying about the financial side. We will of course do whatever it takes to get Loki healthy, it's just we can't come up with thousands of dollars on cue.

I'm really scared of losing Loki. Thank God my job pays well, hopefully I can work extra during the uni break.

I'm in such an anxious headspace, I think my plans for study will have to be shelved. I'll do housework and stay near the phone instead.

[Edit] To file under "Counting blessings" and "It could be worse": There was a woman waiting at the vet when I brought Loki in, her little 8 year old dog had been attacked by a bigger dog and his paw had been bitten off, they were changing the dressing and making sure he was infection free. Poor little thing. At least Loki is mostly intact.
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This afternoon we had [livejournal.com profile] mc_shamo's high school friends over for a bbq. It proved that Seamus was just as good at picking friends when he was 12 as he is now. They're all really awesome people and it was a fun afternoon. There were salads and wines cheese and Raya made an awesome trifle. Plus Raya, who is an osteopath, very nicely fixed my dodgy ankle!

Tonight we're heading to [livejournal.com profile] _audhumla_ and [livejournal.com profile] ragedc's place to have MUCAAS pub as they are back in Melbourne, hurrah! This shall be much much fun.

And in more good news, today Loki found one of his toy mice. He did this to it:

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I think he is feeling better...
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We have our boy home. First of all, he has a 99% chance of recovery, which is awesome. We have him in the study with food and water and his litter. He started to purr as soon as he realised he was home.

A few of these pictures might look a bit yuck because of the stitches and sutchures, but he is okay, our little one is okay :-D

Photo- the external damage )

But look! He is recovering well!! )

He is good kitten! I am so glad he is home. :-D

Right now he and Puck are making noises at each other through the door. I don't think it's a good idea to have Puck with him yet, not until Loki's been home a while. Keeping them apart is difficult though!

Thank God.
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We just went to visit him, he is doing well. We can bring him home this evening as long as he's kept quiet, in fact the surgeon thinks he'll do better in a familiar environment.

He's a bit patchy, fur-wise. He has bandages on two of his legs which have been shaved, he's also been shaved under his chin and his whole underside, so basically, everywhere he is white has been shaved off. There is a long, impressive scar running from his chest to tummy. They had to completely open him up.

The vet nurse said he's very lucky to be alive, and it's great that we caught it.

What they think happened: He suffered a trauma in the first few weeks of life (before he was brought in at Kent st) or he was simply born with it. His stomach and spleen etc. moved up into his chest cavity, which would have eventually killed him. When he ate the charity wristband it blocked up his stomach and it got full of gas. Because the stomach was in the chest cavity this pushed on his lungs, causing the symptoms we noticed. So him eating the charity wristband was actually a huge blessing in disguise, otherwise we probably wouldn't have known anything was wrong until too late.

When we came to see him he came to the front of his cage and once it was open and we could stroke him he started to purr. He's moving very stiffly and seems sore. He's also completely out of it as they've put him on very strong painkillers (methodine and morphine were mentions).

The vet surgeon is amazing. Loki's regular vet told Seamus what he had to do to be qualified; He had to train as a vet, work as a vet for two years, then do a ten year internship at the Uni of Melb vet clinic as a surgeon, then sit an examination (that most people, even after ten years, still fail the first time) and then he was allowed to practice. Wow. Really nice bloke too.

We brought Loki his favourite toy, some favourite food and the anti-biotics he was already on. We can have him back in three hours.

Yay!

If he is well enough this evening I will post some pics of the brave boy.

Thank you all for your kind words and wishes and vibes and prayers. :-)
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If you live even remotely near my area and have a pet I could not possibly reccomend Kensington Vetinary Clinic more highly. I know their website is a bit dodge, but they are the best vets I've come across ever.

Yesterday we took Loki in, who was floppy and uninterested and behaving like he wasn't well, with a possible obstruction in his intestines (stupid bugger ripped up and swallowed a "Make Poverty History" charity wristband). The vet, Kathy, looked him over and kept him for a few hours to X-ray. As soon as he'd been through she rang me to tell me what the x-rays showed; nothing in his tummy or intestines, but a problem with his lungs which was probably why he was running a fever and unwell (he was actually hot to touch, poor little mite). When I went in to collect him about 20 minutes later they brought him straight out to me then asked if I'd wait to speak to Kathy. Kathy took me into the consulting room and actually showed me the x-rays and explained them, and admitted she was a bit stumped as to what was causeing the problem (problem being a solidified something-or-other). She suggested a course of anti-biotics and said to bring him back in a week for more x-rays.

She just rang me then, so just less than 24 hours later, because she said she' been up last night thinking about Loki and worrying and just wanted to find out how he was going. She seemed very glad to be told the anit-biotics seem to be helping (he was alert this morning and interested in breakfast, yay!) We then had a bit of a chat about Loki and about Puck (by the way, Puck came from that vet, and they've given us over $300 of free vet care and medicines for him during the last six months, just because he was one of "their" kitties) and then she double checked timing for Friday and rang off.

All this makes me feel very good indeed about the care my boys are getting there. Loki will be in good hands on Friday :-) So yes, if you have a pet and are living in the inner north-west of Melbourne, Kensington Vets are awesome!
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I'm at work, in the comfy chair, full of pasta and milo. Apart from taking three calls in two minutes (and don't people get snippy when they've called an emergency service and get put on hold?) I've not done terribly much. Currently I have Mary Poppins on the flatscrren in the office- best of a bad bunch tonight I'm afraid, and they're nearly up to the chimney-sweep bit.

Yesterday I went to the wedding of [livejournal.com profile] nearlyalegume and [livejournal.com profile] directorratbag. It was fun, and lovely and very them :-) I particularley enjoyed the piniata in the shape of a wedding cake, and So Long and Thanks For All The Fish, and catching up with people I get to see less and less. It was also nice to see St Mary's church again, my father did some of his training there about 15 years ago. The priest remembered me (though didn't recognise me til I introduced myself) and it turns out Dad knows some of [livejournal.com profile] nearlyalegume's relatives.

Today I took Loki to the vet as he still seemed unwell. There is something wrong with his lung, vet in unsure what it means, but he had lots of X-rays today and has anti-biotics (that [livejournal.com profile] mc_shamo says are huge) and will have to go back on Friday for more X-rays. Possible pneumonia, possible asthma, definite chest infection, possible something else. Poor little kitty :-(


I keep forgetting to ring the doctor and make an appointment for myself. Must do that. Actually, I keep forgetting a lot of stuff right now.

Hee! Chim-chiminy chim-chiminy chim-chim-cheree! Oh Dick Van Dyke, you can't do a cockny accent to save your life. :-)

[Edit]My auntie was right, watching this movie as an adult it's incredibly disturbing how little contact these children get with their parents.
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Very exciting!

Photos

Aug. 21st, 2008 12:30 pm
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I'm bored and I can't breathe, but this is damn cute.

Photos of Cats, taken with mobile phone, therefore of questionable quality )
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Puck seems to be doing ok. We've still got him separated from Loki when were not home, just in case. Loki went for Puck's throat last night, I think it was in play, but still, not pleasant for Puck. Puck is still a bit freaked by this whole new-place, new-people, new-cat thing.
Loki, on the other hand, thinks we've got him a wonderful new toy that makes noise and moves of it's own accord and can chase him as well as the other way round, and spent a good hour this morning (from 4am-5am, grr!) trying to get the study door open by throwing himself at it and clawing underneath it. He can't understand why we'd put his toy in a room he can't get into.

I'm tired.

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