I need some happy thoughts if you have some to spare.UPDATE

[Michelle]

You may remember about a year ago my beloved Punkin kitty, 16, died suddenly. I was devastated. Well, exactly a year to the day later his mother, my oldest female cat Boobers, the one I had posted repeatedly about her declining health and pooping issues, also died. The same day as Punkin. Her passing was much easier for me because I had been expecting it for so long and she was 19 years old. It was peaceful.

Well, my last and youngest cat Romeo, 14, is having some problems. After Boobers died he lost a bit of weight. At first I thought he was sad about losing his other cat family and I watched him a little more closely. After a month, with only one cat, I could tell that there was more urine output in the litterbox. Also he developed a few weird habits. He is ravenous all the time, he can eat probably his weight in cat food daily. He will actually trip you trying to corral you to the laundry room to feed him. If I were not so concerned about him, this would be funny to me because he literally corrals you around he house, directing you to his food dish. He drinks alot, fresh water is what he searches for too. He will drink the water left on the drain right after you get out of the shower and he will now get into garbage if it's not shored up tightly. He'll even rip the bags. These things coupled with the weight loss made me think it was diabetes. So I switched him to high protein low carb wet food only and a raw diet. It should reverse the diabetes immediately. I watched him for 2 weeks and noticed he was still losing weight. Time for the vet.

I took him yesterday for blood work and the vet said it could be 3 things. Diabetes, Hyperthyroid or renal failure. I ask that you please have some positive thoughts that it is the last damaging of the 3, NO renal failure. I can handle diabetes, I think I can handle the hyperthyroid but the renal failure I can't handle. He is my last baby left and I would be a basket case if it were something I could not treat successfully.

Thank you!

[*heather*]

Oh no Michelle, I am so sorry to hear about your last kitty. I will pray for him. I hope its not renal failure. When will you know???

[Michelle]

Either today or Monday. Hopefully today.

[sam.i.am]

Sending good thoughts for your kitty, Michelle. xoxo

[LML]

Aww, Michelle. I'm know that must feel terrible. I'm sorry you have to go through this again with your kitties. It's hard when they've been with you through so many phases of your life, like I'm sure yours have. I hope it turns out for the best.

[jennifer10]

I am so sorry, Michelle. fingers crossed that is it NOT #3.
*hugs*

[Michelle]

It's hyperthyroidism. Medication twice a day. This should be great fun. It only took me 20 minutes to give him his first dose.

Here is one for you.....So I run really quickly to the vet because they close at 1 and I wanted to get him started on the meds before Monday. I was getting ready to work out so I have on a sports bra and ridiculously short neon orange shorts that I would NEVER wear in pubic because my butt is perilously close to hanging out the bottom and my hair in a crappy bun with a bright neon yellow headband, cuz I really hate the wispy hairs that tickle your face when you are doing burpees and it is the only headband that does not hurt my ears. I throw on a tank top and run out the door with my wallet and cell phone. The car is sluggish to start, I look at Kevin, who is diggin up plants in the front beds to make room for a car pad, with my eyebrows raised like WTF? He says, yeah I noticed it yesterday, we are going to have to get a battery soon for it. This comes after the first semester of Ringling College of Art tuition, I don't even want to type out how much that was, the tires on Ashleighs SUV go, the tires on Kevins Boxster go, and the vet bill which was not nearly as bad as I thought it would be. Me last vet bill was over $500. I also just re-did the living room, new carpet, new entertainment center, new ottoman, I have to replace the patio set I sold AND re-mulch the playground for winter so the girls can actually use it before hey outgrow it. Yeah. I am tapped.

So of course on my way home from picking up the medication at the vet, my car battery died. I am now stuck at the vet, which is in a busy strip mall right next to a starbucks on a Sunny but cool Saturday morning, in my work out clothing, and I go to call Kevin, who is home with both the girls and a 2 seater car. My cell battery is on orange with less than a millimeter of power left. I go to plug in the phone and the car charger is broken, wire pulled out the of the plug. OMFG! I am going to freaking blow.

Kevin loads the girls in the boxster, drives them to the vet, jumps the car I go home, take 20 minutes to pill my cat, plug in my stupid phone. The cat is not happy with me AT all so I try to make it up for him by giving an extra can of soft cat food that I know he likes just to make sure the pill went down. I go back to work out and I hear smacking from the laundry room. My fat ass lab is in their chomping on the stinky FISH cat food, eating it in like 2 licks. I scruff her, tap her nose screaming at her No-no, this used to be a daily occurrence because of the poop eating issues, and throw her ass outside. I then go back into the living room to work out, I straighten the pillows on the couch cuz the girls were in there with a bunch of toys and I uncover the couch cushions which are now COVERED in dog nail scratches because my OTHER dumb ass lab gets on the couch to make a bed so she can look out the front window and bark her fool head off at the cars that drive by. Yeah. I just trimmed her nails last night because they were long so they were REALLY sharp. I now have a hundred gouges in my couch cushions.

Oh yeah and cha-ching. $110 for a battery. WTH? AND you need a special took to remove the old one and it is located under the front car seat. I ask WHY??? Why is a car battery under the front car seat? Why do you need a special star shaped tool to remove it?

My day is completely shot. I just want to curl up with my hyperthyroid cat and take a nap.

[sam.i.am]

glad it's just hyperthyroidism!
sorry about the rest...

[SouthernBellefromSC]

I am so glad it is just the HT and something treatable ;-)

And while I hate that your day had all of the drama and the costly additive of things as of late I do so love the way you tell a story!!!!

It made me chuckle to think of you stuck like that in that outfit out in public. I can only imagine.

Bentley is always eating Riley's food and its some seafood combo and something else. ( I feed him a little soft food of the wellness core wet and the wellness core dry) I have to sit there and watchin Riley eat b.c when he walks away Bentley will jump up on the counter and chow down and man does that food stink!!!

[Michelle]

Oh it stinks, the dog stinks already from the litter buffet. Can you imagine the fish food on top of it? There are nights we are watching a movie or TV in bed and she is panting at least 10 feet away on the floor by my bathroom door and we have to kick her OUT of the room because we can smell the fish/shit stink that far away. It's friggin D.I.S.G.U.S.T.I.N.G.

[*heather*]

Oh Michelle, what a day you had! I understand being tapped, beleive me. I get to head to the dentist for a new crown on Friday since it appears I have a black spot under it that needs to be fixed. WTF. It never ever ends. I choose $1k for my medical flexible spending account this year and it is already all gone thanks to my foot issue. Kevin needs a crown replaced too.
As for the pets, dogs are DISGUSTING. awful. Thankfully Zoey stopped eating poop but she will still roll in it. LOVE THAT. not.
She still gets into the garbage and will eat anything off the counter she can reach.

I hope you were able to curl up somewhere comfy last night and loose yourself in a good book.

[heatherxoxo]

WOW, sorry to hear about your kitty and your day from hell. You must be a super mom to be able to handle that day!

[Michelle]

Well, after treating the Hyperthyroid for 2 months, the urine output did not change. He had to be checked to make sure the meds were working properly and I mentioned the urine output and the drinking at his app, because it has not changed. After $250 in MORE bloodowork, my kitty baby has been diagnosed with Renal disease, the one I dreaded and was praying it wasn't. Please keep him in your prayers, we have to medicate him more and feed him a special diet. Hoepfully he can have a few more really good years before his kidneys fail.

If anyone has a cat with Renal failure and has tried medications, I'd love to hear what worked or didn't work for you. The Vet recommended Azodyl, which they charge a freaking arm and a leg for and after some research I found a non prescription supplement called Epakitin that is supposed to work the same way. Plus the diet food is also really expensive and many say their pets won't eat it. So if you have any other Kidney diet cat foods that you know of I'd be glad to check it out. My kitty is picky about his food. TIA!

[SouthernBellefromSC]

Oh Michelle I am so sorry. I don't have any experience with this but I will ask around to see if I have friends that do. ;-(

Kitty prayers are still being said.

[sam.i.am]

I'm sorry, Michelle.

I don't know about kitty renal issues, but I do have several friends who've had cats with this problem. I have had great luck finding very knowledgeable people on specific health issues on Yahoo groups. I'd bet they have at least one for this specific issue.

[*heather*]

I am so sorry Michelle. I am terribly allergic to cats so I have never had one. I know you are resourceful, you will find what works for your kitty. Sending some kitty prayers your way.

[Michelle]

Thanks guys.

[jennifer10]

so sorry, Michelle. hope your kitty isn't in too much pain