Maybe we've turned a corner...

[flick4411]

My "baby" Torrie seems to have gotten better. She still can't meow right--still basically squeeks--but her demeanor is so much better. She's sitting right beside me as I type which is so much better than a week or two ago. She is back to nearly normal for a 14 year old. I think she just had a really bad cat cold. The xrays didn't show anything like polyps in her nose or growths in her throat or lungs...so maybe all is ok. Guess it wasn't her time yet...but sadly, my sister lost her monster golden retriever yesterday. Ironically, he was 14 as well. He just got old overnight and was seizing yesterday morning. By the time they got him to the vet, he was gone. He was lovely animal with the best spirit. When my bro-in-law brought home a teeny Westie puppy a year ago, Colvy the Golden, took it all in stride, as Leo the puppy pulled his leg hair, hung on his tail, nipped at his ears. Colvy was huge--105 lbs--but thought he was a lap dog. He will truly be missed. So maybe he's moved over the Rainbow Bridge to join the legions of our pets--dogs, cats, hamsters, birds, guinea pigs, horses, etc., maybe his spirit has passed on to Torrie for a few more good years? Now that she's better, I've got to reschedule that "all cat" trip soon.

Time for bed...another great work week ahead...LOL! We are moving from off-post to onto Fort Lee into ou new building. I'll be back to having an office again...whahoo! For another 5 months and 2 weeks....BIGGER WHAHOO!!!

[BarbaraRose]

I didn't know Torrie wasn't doing well. Glad to hear he is doing better now, tho. We worry so much about our furpets, don't we?

(I picked up a book this weekend called "Your Cat's Just Not That Into You"! I haven't had a chance to read much of it yet but sounds really funny (and probably all too true!).

[BirdbyBird]

So glad to hear that Torrie will be around to help you learn about this travel thing with cats. She probable knew that you wanted some extra cat help. It isn't like we can do this stuff by ourselves and she wasn't going to leave it all to her sister and that young foreign thing.

[mitch5252]

..

Good news about Torrie! Tina's probably right - that "little foreign thing" probably would have been trying to convince you to drive on the wrong side of the road...

PS: How do cars drive in Kuwait?

..

[OutandAbout]

Glad to hear that Torrie is feeling better. She can't LET you go on this new adventure with out her. Echos of what were you thinking going on here.

Cooper isn't feeling well. She's been puking, but seems to have stopped. She is staying hydrated, which is good. Will keep an eye on her and take her to the vet if necessary. She just seems worn out today and is resting.

Linda

[flick4411]

@ Linda: I'm guessing that Cooper is a cat, but this will work for both cats and dogs. The human medicine, Prilosec OTC, or the generic equivalent, will stop the puking if it goes on and on. Sometimes cats get into a puke cycle and will drink water and up it comes, then they go back to the water bowl and it goes on. If your animal will take a pill, give half of a 5 mg pill to a cat--probably a full tablet for a medium sized dog. My cats find a pill in anything--butter, cheese, or even the ever-famous pill pocket. So I grind up the pill with a pill cutter/grinder (found at any drug store). Then I add in about 5-10 ml of water into the grinder bowl with the ground pill, stir it, and suck it up with a syringe for animals. Then you can squirt it into their mouth. It has broken the cycle of puking on both my older cats. Saved huge vet bills when I used to have to take them in to have fluids put under their skin. Now, two pukes in a row, and they get the meds. Stops it immediately. Wonder med!!!

@ Mitch: How do you drive in Kuwait? Like a bat out of hell, that's how. They drive on the same side of the road as we, but they go 100 mph on the highways, no seat belts, small kids sitting in the crook of their arms up against the driver's window; they drive on the emergency access spaces on both sides, in the ditches if large enough, and on your bumper without their lights on at night. It is some of the craziest driving I've ever done. I spent the first month, driving in the right lane scared out of my wits. But in the year I was there, I learned to drive faster, where the speed cameras were, going from 90MPH to 70 MPH in a nanosecond. But I also learned to watch mirrors in all directions at all times cuz you never knew when they would sneak up on your and expect you to just disappear in bumper to bumper traffic...it was a real adventure!!! I drove fast on the German Autobahns, but the Germans follow the rules pretty well. The drivers in the Middle East figure it's all up to Allah--if today's my day, then i'm going no matter how dangerous I drive!!!

[Bethers]

I'm so glad to hear the good news about Torrie, but saddened to hear about Colvy.

Torrie can't wait for your retirement, either - waiting to do some major traveling

[sharon]

Awww, so glad Torrie's feeling better! Thanks for the tip on the puking, you never know when you're gonna need something like that. Give your sister a hug from the rv women gang....it's tough to lose a family member.

[Forestgal]

It truly is a circle of life with our four-footed friends, isn't it. Losing a member of the family is always hard, but somehow when it's a pet there's something qualitatively different. There aren't the interpersonal issues that accompany the human losses. To me it's the purest form of love there is -- totally unconditional on their part.

I'm delighted to hear that Torrie is good to go for a while longer. Hugs to your brother's family on their loss. And thanks for the tip on the Prilosec -- it might come in handy some time. However, sometimes throwing up is a sign of something different, too. That's what finally got me to taking Belle to the vet, only to find out about her hyperactive thyroid. But I think that when it's more than just an upset tummy our intuition tells us. It's saved Jed's life, and probably Belle's too.

Laura

[avalen]

glad Torrie is feeling better