Doing Better!

Well, Wilford Brimley the cat is doing much, much better already, as am I. He's been on the injections for less than 48 hours, and has already put back on a little weight (he'd lost over a third of his total body weight) and now that he isn't starving to death because of the diabetes, he's actually taking the time to chew his food. And most importantly, he does not spend all his time yeowling at me to feed him.

I also talked to friends who have had a diabetic cat, and a couple of nurses and vets and was informed that the insulin I purchased does NOT automatically expire in 30-60 days. We have five pre-filled insulin pens, each of which has enough medication to last Thor for 6 months at a time because his dosage is so tiny (1/5th of a milliliter per day.) One friend told me that each pen is good for 60 days, another friend said just use them until they run out. But the important thing is, the other pens are still good until 2015. So even if I only use each pen for two months, that box will last me almost an entire year. It makes the prospect of keeping him on the medication less financially intimidating. The other thing is, he does not react AT ALL to being stuck because the needle is truly very tiny. I've been putting out some wet food for him, and then while he's eating, I pinch and stick. He doesn't even stop chomping. We'll see if this strategy still works once his weight and hunger has stabilized.

The other good thing is that Ellie has been very gentle about this whole thing, and surprisingly understanding for a two year old. Because I am trying not to freak Thor out, I have just been giving him the shot in the kitchen (also, the pens are in the fridge.) I don't encourage Ellie to come in and watch me, but it's hard to keep her out of my hair most of the time. She is so sweet though, very concerned about how Thor is getting a little shot to help his tummy feel better. She stays out of my way, and then afterwards says "Foury was very bwave." He IS very brave.

So we'll see how he does. The biggest hassle is worrying about what we'll do if we go on vacation. I have always loved the fact that you can just leave an extra litter box and some extra food and water and then ditch your cat for a few days at a time. But this adds a new twist to having people check in on the cats, especially since Thor is not exactly eager to greet visitors. We'll cross that bridge when we come to it and worse comes to worse, the reality is Tim and I and our two small children are not exactly planning to go on a month long backpacking trip through Europe (not until 2014, at least.)

This morning we were back at music class with Miss Elena, after an extended holiday break. We got to play with Lexi at the play ground before hand, which is always fun, and then during Miss Elena's introduction, Ellie kept asking "is it time for music? Is it time for scarves? Is it time for toys? It's music time now?" and then the second Miss Elena launched into the "Hello" song, E was out of my lap, spinning and hopping around. My shy little violet! Lately, when she dances, she likes to inform us that she's a beautiful dancing flower. With the new baby on the way, and the prospect of twice weekly preschool on the agenda, I have been thinking about dropping one of Ellie's current activities. Seeing her this morning made it clear that choosing music over swimming is going to be a good choice (especially since our pool facility is under new management and all of the classes are changing anyways.)

She has also been very into building with blocks lately, telling us that she's going to make "the tallest tower I've ever seed!" This morning, Lulu helped

Lulu is also demonstrating the #1 principle of being a cat, which is "if I fits, I sits."