Miscellaneous Madness

A variety of topics today....

Margaret had a good idea involving my Geeky Stuff dilemma - I can't believe I haven't GOOGLED the techy blog questions I've had come up.  I'm a Google-meister at work. Seriously, y'all - everyone is always coming to me asking questions and I just go to Google every time.  I honestly never tried googling my stuff - I spent all that time reading the FAQs and Help files on my blog hosting site and just not getting it. Big DUH there.  :) Margaret, thank you for pointing me in the right direction. I hope you'll see some improvements on my blog layout soon. (can't help so much on the content... it is what it is...)

This is Fruitcake.  She's about 15 years old....

She's been in our household since she was about 5 or 6 weeks old.  When Kevin was 10-11-12 (we can't remember) he and his best friend Derrick, who lived around the corner, crawled under Derrick's house (through the crawlspace, yo) to see the wild cat and the kittens she had there. Every day they crawled under the house to mess with those kittens until one day the mama cat abandoned them.  The boys brought the kittens to our house in a laundry basket, and I gave in and let Kevin keep one. They gave the others away around the neighborhood. (how they got away with that trick, I don't know - who would take a kitten from a couple of kids going door to door???) Anyway, she's named after a Jimmy Buffett song/album.  She's been a pretty entertaining cat throughout the years. However, she was not impressed when the dogs came into our home about 8 years ago. She's tolerated them, but she spends a lot of the time sitting in the window in the spare bedroom (Kevin's old room).

Now, she's sick and I have a feeling this will be the last week of her life.  She's always been a skinny little thing, 7 to 8 lbs. at her best. She has recently (in the last week or so) begun to have bloody poops several times a day and she sometimes does it on the floor, rather than her litter box. She's also been vomiting on occasion. Otherwise, her behavior is the same, and she still has a good appetite and runs and jumps on the furniture like always. Nothing has changed (same food, litter in the box) and her shots are current, but she's having this problem. This will sound terrible, but... she's so old... I can't see paying the money to have her diagnosed when I know I'm not willing to treat it - such as buying prescription food, medication, or even more if its cancer. (yes, I did google this - it is likely an infection in the lower digestive tract or a tumor) Am I a horrible person?  Joe and I have discussed this, as have Kevin and I, and we all seem to agree that its probably time to have her put to sleep.  I hate this, but I don't want her to go along getting worse and die a painful death, or live a painful remainder of her life.  Anyone have any ideas??? Do you really think I should have her checked out first??? Ugh. I feel like a jerk.

okey dokey. I haven't touched my knitting in a couple of days now. I've been busy working on the bloggy stuff. I need to get back to the yarny goodness. It'll only take a day to finish the Crusoe sock.

Tonight I took the easy route and fixed a frozen Di Giornio pizza for supper.  It really was ok, especially for $6. I'm thawing out some chicken to grill tomorrow night, and will make either mashed potatoes or couscous to go with it, and maybe some corn. I ran to the grocery at noon today to pick up some things for lunches at work. Usually I've got sandwich stuff or maybe a dish of leftovers to take, but I'm out of sandwich stuff and haven't had any leftovers lately, so I bought a bunch of frozen boxes and three cans of Chef-Boyardee (also a bag of apples, some yogurt, and some Diet Coke). I'll probably run to the grocery tomorrow or the next day to re-stock the house groceries. We're out of bananas, sandwich stuff, beer, and salad stuff. After eating all the good pot-luck funeral food last week, I'm hungry for some different veggie salads and some brisket or pork roast. (we had the best brisket at the Oklahoma church after the burial - it was awesome) We had some really, really good home cooking last week. We had a good broccoli-onion-raisin salad and a yummy hash-brown casserole, Texas sheet cake (chocolate cake with a boiled chocolate pecan icing), and the cabbage slaw with ramen noodles in it too. And.... pies. Lots of pies. Whew, I probably gained 3 lbs. last weekend (all the more reason to eat Lean Cuisines, apples, and oatmeal for the next week, right?)

OK, that's all for tonight. I need to get some sleep - been staying up late the last few nights and I'm paying for it now.  Y'all have a great Wednesday!

Comments

[Claudia W]

A big resounding, you do what you feel is right with Fruitcake. I have always said that when my big ol' German Shepherd (who I love more than anything in this world) gets too expensive to take care of medically and is in danger of being in too much pain I will take him in and have him put to sleep. That is the best love we can give our furry loves! I think it is cruel to spend money on the vet bills, when the animals don't like going and all the shots and tests are painful too, not to mention how frightened they can get with the back and forth stuff. You know that cat better than anyone. I really think some people go too far in the name of the pet's best interest. I love my animals so much, but I think suffering with the extra money outlay and taking them to the vet too much is just as cruel. Just saying, I will step down off my soap box now...oh yea...do not feel guilty or like a jerk or any of that negative stuff. You are just doing what is right. (stepping down again)
I really need to get some groceries here too. I am just so dang involved in so many other things I forget the food. Then by the time I think of it, it's too late or I'm too tired to go to the store! Not good, cause then I eat junk food.

[Margaret]

So glad I could help! Glad you've figured out your bloggy dilemmas.

I'm sorry to hear about Fruitcake. I had to put my 14 year old collie to sleep for just about the same reasons. I did go ahead and have blood work done, but it came back normal. You can be assured that you gave your cat a great life, and let her die without pain.

[Vicky]

Google. Sheesh, why didn't I think of that? Google is a staple around here, my mom looks at us funny when we say things like "go goog it" and "what does goog say?" "tired googing it" Sometimes we even say the whole word...Google.

Cat. We have had illness's in our 2 cats recently too. I would have to put them down if it were something really serious [ie; expensive] Such a sucky state of affairs.

I laughed when I read the name of your cat...and then again when I read where the name came from....That is so you Jeri!!!!!!!!

[Rian]

I went through this with my dog recently. As it turned out he got better on his own, but I know what you are dealing with is hugely difficult. Sending you good thoughts and vibes. PS, whatever you decide, don't let guilt mess with your mind.

[Robin]

Sorry about Fruitcake - it is hard to see a pet suffer.

[Debra Spincic]

As the pet's owner, you can make the decision. I had a cat about the same age and looked about the same. She had problems one week where she couldn't pee. When I took her to the vet they said her bladder was hardening so I had her put to sleep instead of "cured". I was about to move at the time and I just felt the timing was the best for all involved. You don't want your pet to suffer.

On another note, I love your new picture!