SNOW. Lord please, enough. I know I should not complain because to me even my beloved New Orleans would be worse to endure, year after year. But to shovel and shovel, day after day......
Our cat has been sick all week and the first day she was well again, it snowed all day long, and I had to snicker (schadenfreude) at her that the first time she was allowed outdoors was impeded by her desire for no snow underpaw. Honestly we thought we'd lose her, and twice took her to the vet, and were surprised and thanking God when Saturday she came around and started to have an appetite again. All I could think was diabetes or kidney failure. And I know all about Hepatic Lipidosis from treating a former cat. That cat means the world to my husband and when she began to recover, to see his delight was a very emotional thing. She's spending these Hoth days lying beside him on the couch - he's been sick too (from exhaustion I believe) and he has her hand on her almost constantly.
For days she was too sick to lie on her side/back so when she finally did, I was overjoyed and took these photos:
The snow seemed to be a really easy texture....I sculpted a Minbari in snow. Gotta have some art in the yard.
Mara stood hours in the snow until I felt certain her ears would fall off and I locked her in a stall for the rest of the blizzard. Donkey is clever, never lets a flake touch her furry coat.
Not a bad photo for me learning to use my new point&shoot: ) In this moment she's worried because despite the storm there are people taking down large oak trees across the street, then dragging them by tractor across Herr S's entire field. I so wanted to bring them coffee or cocoa; why on Hoth would someone work all day in a blizzard?
Thankfully the rain is washing the snow down tonight, rain, rain! A million times better than snow.
Saturday was my man's birthday and in case you don't know by now he's Queen's biggest fan so I got him a new remastered album. When the song from Highlander came on, exactly when I was trying to film the snowfall, I got goosebumps all over. Who wouldn't, if you know this film: )
Mr. Amsel, it's snowing. Amsel make me miss Robins so much. Our Robins, not the European ones.
If you liked Highlander/Queen you'll like this snowy song with vocals this time (with birds singing at the end - how rude!). The order is wrong here, sorry, I took this video in the morning when it first started snowing.
My man also played along on the piano but I didn't get those videos to turn out well. No worries, as long as we're married I'll be videotaping my yard as he plays piano: )
13 comments:
Gorgeous photos! The snow is beautiful at least! Glad kitty is feeling better, they really do become such a big part of the family :)
Love that close up picture! I hear you on the snow. we've been having the snow during the week which is fine since I can't ride after work with the darkness. By the weekend the snow is melting so it makes puddles and a slushy mess at the barn. Spring will come soon!
Poor kitty, I am so glad he is better. What did the vet say was wrong with him?
Your photos were beautiful! Mara looks oblivious to the snow. And Bellis looks quite snug in her winter coat. Mara is so pretty, she looks cute covered in snow.
I hope you have a good week!
Love the last photo, Lytha! Glad your man's kitty is feeling better. We adopted a friend's older cat when she moved, but weren't sure she was going to make it through the winter. She's doing better now, too.
At least you don't have to clean Bantha stalls. You think they smell bad on the inside? Ha!
As for the rest of Ice Planet Hoth, you know what I think.
Also: there is a spare bed here in the Swamp for you, anytime. Currently occupied by Puzzle, who devoutly hopes that your kitty is feeling better now!
This whole post made me smile.
We need to get you a tauntaun! ;)
I'm so glad your kitty is better, and I can imagine how worried you were. She might have had pancreatitis, which can be very sudden and can happen for no apparent reason. It can cause vomiting and diarrhea, loss of appetite, and abdominal pain/discomfort. Sometimes they have all of those symptoms, sometimes they only have one or two. Some cats get very, very sick from it and others have a flare-up once, get over it on their own, and it never happens again. I hope that if this is what Mercer had, that it is the latter case and it never happens again! How sweet that she has been lying next to your man while he wasn't feeling well. I hope he's all better very soon!
That is a LOT of snow! The close-up photo of Mara's eye with the snow in her mane should be printed, blown up poster-sized, and framed! It is beautiful. I loved the videos with the music. The second one where you are standing with Mara with the bird sounds in the background is lovely. It reminded me a little bit of that scene in the movie Legend where Jack approaches the unicorn in a snowstorm.
T, thanks. Mercer is our baby and I'm so thrilled that my man fell for her when he didn't want cats.
Christie, I'm still learning my new camera. I hate slushy puddle mess and poo under snow/frozen poo.
Kbryan, the vet thought it was worms but I have no idea. Oblivious to snow is right!
Evensong, funny you call her his cat: )
Aarene, maybe we'll take you up on that. We're planning on driving to Yellowstone because neither of us have ever been there.
Saiph, I like that photo too but I don't like the worried look in her eye. I'm glad you like Legend too. I'll write another comment with the details of Mercer's illness.
ABOUT MERCER's ILLNESS....
Monday she was puking water in little piles everywhere, and that night she didn't want her dinner. Since we feed her two small meals per day it's a big deal for her to not have an appetite, so I took her to the vet Tuesday morning.
He weighed her and she'd lost 100 grams (a lot for a 3.2 kg cat). He asked when I'd wormed her last - Fall. He said that's the problem, since she's such an avid hunter I should worm her more than every season. I said I don't want to worm her when she's so ill but of course if he's right, that had to happen. He gave her a shot of amoxycillin and another antiinflammatory shot. He gave me a packet of Science Diet i/D and said maybe it will help get her to eat.
Mercer spend the next few days trying to hide from us (I thought she wanted to die) because she needed her privacy. Oddly she'd eat a bit and puke, but sometimes 12 hours later, first thing in the morning. I was panicking.
She would lay upright facing a wall, it was very strange. Sometimes she'd hide in a corner with her nose in the corner. She would drink and drink and lay down next to the water so she could keep drinking more easily. I was very stressed, and so was J.
J would hold a towel under her face while she puked, trying to catch it. Our house smelled horrible, and my hands too. Thankfully we don't have carpet except in the bedroom so it was easy to clean.
Wednesday we insulted her more by worming her and she was miserable. I thought I'd never get her back, that we'd lose her for sure to kidney failure.
Thursday she was able to keep a little food down - I'd gone to get her some little cans and every 2 hours I'd offer her a teaspoonful stirred with warm water until soupy.
The most wonderful thing was Thursday evening she finally stood up and walked to me when I approached with her food.
Friday back at the vet he gave her more antibiotic, noted that she'd gained 80 grams, and said from the way she's struggling she's improved. Truly, Tuesday was the first time I'd ever been able to get her into a cat carrier without a major fight. Friday was a major fight again: )
My husband plays a game with her every morning at 6 AM. She's a soccer cat, a goalie, and loves to catch balls or fruits that I'm trying to throw to the horse. Every morning he tosses pieces of catfood across the floor and she either jumps and catches them, or runs after them. He said we would only let her back outside when she played the game again.
Saturday morning she played soccer with him so we opened up the cat door. Surprise kitty, megasnow! She still went out there and re-established her territory - somehow the neighborhood cats knew she was ill - we never saw cats in our yard until this week.
Now she's fine and spoiled and begging me for her teaspoon of wet food every few hours, even though she's eating her dry food again. I cannot refuse.....
I really wish I knew what the problem was. The vet thinks it was worms but I've seen her puke tapeworms before and act totally healthy. I guess we'll never know.
Oh they can get a whole bunch of different varieties of worms, sadly. Whipworms can cause some of the symptoms she had, but it could have been caused by something as simple as her eating something that didn't agree with her while out hunting. The laying on her back instead of curled up like she normally would indicates to me that her tummy probably hurt. Cats can have episodes like what Mercer had for no explainable reason though. It is so distressing when they get sick. Your vet took a nice all-around approach, and kudos to you for taking her in to be seen promptly. If this ever happens again (I hope not!)you can have bloodwork run and it would say if it's a kidney or liver issue, but given her prompt full recovery and the fact that she's eating so well, I doubt that it's either at this time. Good for you for taking such excellent care of her! :)
Snow is my happy place, so this whole post made me happy, and not just because of the TaunTaun reference.
LOL, love the post title. And pictures
Poor kitty, that was a very scary situation. I am immensely glad she pulled out of it. It is sooo hard to see our animals suffer. Hoping for a 100% recovery.
I'm glad Mercer is okay! That must have been so scary and stressful.
The snow sure is pretty. Thanks for sharing the videos. I really enjoyed them.
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