I leave tomorrow for my Atlantic City vacation. Ronnie and I have never been on a vacation together, so we are super excited. Well.. I am excited. Ronnie is typically unexcited.
On the last day of our vacation, we'll be bringing home the fabulous and famous Leo. I can't wait to meet him, and for him to get to know us. Updates to come!
Wow is all I can say. Stephanie Brown is good! I will try to keep this as short as possible but we talked to Rox, Niko and Leo. Y'all know I have memory issues so I will be recalling things as the days go by but this is as good as I can do for now. :D
When I called her, she was not by the phone so I got the answering machine. I called Jenn and was like omg she's not there! and talked to her for a few minutes, when Jesica points out that the cats suddenly got agitated. Sure enough, about 30 seconds later my phone rang.
She started laughing almost immediately, which cracked me up. Turns out Rox and Niko have been having lots of discussions about whether or not I meant it that another cat was coming. She said the first time I told them they flat-out didn't believe me. The second time I told them, they started to question it and have been wondering if it was really true. "The laid-back one is interested to meet him, but the other one is.......not" LOL Naturally, I did not tell her or anyone that I had talked to them twice other than maybe Jenn, but that would be it. Everyone else thinks I'm crazy LOL I ended up talking to them twice, because I got the distinct impression they weren't listening to me the first time. Soooooo 2 mins into the conversation and she's already hit one big thing. She said when she told them he was really coming that they were both like "She was serious?!" HAHAHA Now those are my cats. She said they weren't sure when I told them because "I'm like that" perhaps a reference to the multiple times I've considered bringing another cat into the house that I've seen on the board. I wonder if they heard me in my head or if I actually talked about it. It's always heavy on my mind when I see one needing a home. She told them he was coming because he really needed a home and that I wasn't just doing it just because. I meant to ask her if they knew that is why THEY were in the house but I'll write that one down for next time.
We then got to Niko, which got rather lengthy as apparently he had much to explain.
Niko He's a big fraidy cat. This has not been revealed before, but me and Jes knew it. His aggression is his way of acting out his fears. This is due to his childhood dumps and not something I can do anything about. He is going to be scared forever. I listened, but did not quite understand why that is a good thing.. but apparently it is not unhealthy. He will try and give Leo a chance, but he is not going to promise anything. He did not believe for quite some time that we were his forever home. He is starting to understand that he is here forever, but he may never truly let go of the thought that he might get dumped again. :( She said we are always trying to fix things so we don't understand that it's normal for cats. Niko is very sad about the loss of Spot ("the cat that died recently"), they were close she said. I said which one. She said which one was he closer to? I said "neither" and she said that's not right. They had great respect for one another, and that it was the one that was here when he got here. He thought it was too soon for Leo to come to the house, because he still misses Spot. I knew he was grieving hard over Spot when he would howl at the door for hours, but I did not realize it was still that painful to him or that they were actually close.
Leo Leo is a gentleman, and very concerned that he will upset the household, but very relieved to have a household so he will be on his best behavior. His diabetes is making him feel bad, but he really likes his food. He has been told by "them", and understands, that he is not staying where he is right now, and he's good with that, though comfortable where he is. He thinks he has been outside most of his life, and was once regularly fed by a lady with dark hair, petite but not skinny, when he lived in an alley. He doesn't know her name, but she moved away. I got the impression from what she was saying that he really cared for her. I did not ask her how he got declawed because we were rapidly running out of time after our 15 minute talk with Niko. Leo thinks his name suits him and rather likes it. She said he was polite, regal and gentlemanly and felt that he might do well in our household. She also heavily recommended I introduce him slowly to Rox and Niko since Niko was so apprehensive.
Leo is not 9, he thinks he is closer to 7! He has some teeth issues but they do not seem to be a focus to him, due to the diabetes being more disruptive. She suspects they may not be that big of a problem after he gets his nutritional levels up.
Roxanne The "laid-back one" is seemingly chatty (LMAO) and had some things to convey. She will be interested in Leo, but "we'll have to see". See if he can follow "the rules". I laughed and said "like she does" when it dawned on me that she meant HER rules, which got Stephanie laughing pretty well. That just confirmed my suspicion that Miss Foxanne is Alpha in my house. Niko is misunderstood by humans, he is very playful, and she is good with that, she likes to play, but she really is kept on her toes by him. He has never had anyone stand up to him she said, and that's why he is like he is.
So I asked Stephanie what about Roxanne's death cries and she fell out laughing. Seems I'm being played. Hmmph. She said Roxanne knows she can get a reaction out of me and get me to come get him off her so that's why she does it. She recommended next time they play "I Will Kill You Dead" that I look over and tell Roxanne to stand up for herself and to handle it. LOL She has a cavity on her upper left premolar but her funny clicking noise she always makes when she's chewing on me is actually her attention getter noise. I thought that was hilarious because the needle sharp teeth usually do a great job of getting my attention. She said she had the feeling that Rox had soft teeth and they may pose a problem for her lifetime. She also thinks that might improve as Rox's nutrition level continues to improve, which led me to wonder about what the poor cat was eating when she lived where she lived before being turned in to animal control. I did not have time to ask though.
They can hear me talking to them in their heads, but the real question is "are they listening?" which I took to mean they are often tuning me out LOL. No real surprise there. She referred to it as selective listening.
I asked her which of the two cats had just vomited and what was wrong with them. She immediately answered that Niko had, and that he had a hairball. I said I wasn't sure who had done it because I had found Rox covering it up and she said "Oh yeah, that's because she is Miss Priss and she likes everything just so". Y'all should have seen Missy Boo's ears when I repeated that to Jenn later. LOL Flat as a pancake.
So during the conversation the two cats were tearing around the house, then sitting there watching me, then tearing around the house, then sitting there watching me. Niko was up and down and all over the place trying to find a comfortable place to sit. After the conversation was the WEIRDEST night. First, the two cats were all over me and Jesica. They wanted to play, they wanted pets and lovin's.. but we had to finally leave and get Jesica's hair cut. So we get back and they are all over us again, especially Niko. Then I was sitting there on the floor and Niko and Roxanne were sitting about 3 feet from me, when Niko does his patented back flop right in front of Roxanne. He looked like he was about to reach up and assault her, but she sat up and started bathing him. It was very cute.. until he decides he's gonna wrap his arms around her neck and bunny kick her to death. She bit his foot and continued bathing him. He went after he jugular, she freed herself and bit his foot again. He went still and she went back to bathing him. Then he tried to bathe her. She bit his foot again! This foot biting thing went on for about 1/2 hour! He laid there on his back in front of her and she kept going after that foot and he kept flicking his tail and in between all that there was bathing going on. THEN Niko starts washing Roxie's forehead, so she's sitting there with her head tipped down and he's washing her face and it was the coolest thing ever.. until she bit his foot again. Me and Jes were about to explode from trying not to laugh out loud at them.
Here's what I think: Niko was showing his respect for her because she stuck up for him to the animal communicator. I have never seen him behave submissively towards her before and it was the strangest thing!
I cannot wait to talk to her again. She nailed my cats, and their attitudes, behaviors and quirks. I feel very sure that I made the right move getting ahold of her before bringing Leo in. She was great to talk to. :)
The saddest in the house was our young boy Niko. I knew I could not get another "healthy" cat, that I would have to get one that would be considered unadoptable. Diabetics are generally older cats, but the 3 year old nutjob needed a young friend. I was not sure what to do.
Niko was still howling at the door for Spot, and now spent much of his time walking around the house in circles, searching. Then, on Valentine's Day, 1 year to the day that Spot was diagnosed with diabetes, I got a private message from an FDMB member who had seen another member's post about her foster cat.
Initially I didn't even want to read that post, but then curiosity got the better of me. I saw that it was a little girl kitty, only 2 and a half years old. That is crazy young for a diabetic. This little girl had extra toes on each of her paws, a true four-paw polydactyl! Sammie was a polydactyl who could throw and catch balls with her extra toes. I was hooked. I had another one of those conversations with Ronnie, where I beg, reason and plead and he blinks. YAY! Another kitty! Suddenly I was the crazy cat lady again, my friends were laughing at me, my boss rolled his eyes. I realized, that even though I was grieving the loss of my boys who died less than 2 months apart, that my heart actually needed a new kitty to love too.
So I contacted Connie, who was fostering this little girl. The kitty's name was Reese, and she was unafraid and very sociable, not sick at all aside from the diabetes. We chatted and then I contacted her shelter, AWS in Kennebunkport Maine, and arranged the adoption. We requested transport help on the Feline Diabetes board. The whole of FDMB came together in excitement. Everyone wanted to help in some way and people not living on the east coast were bummed that they couldn't help transport the cat. We had daily updates and then, suddenly it was the big day. 
"Reese" became "Roxanne" instantly. Never have I seen such unladylike behavior - it was downright embarrassing. Niko was quite taken aback by it as well, but on Day 1, it all seemed like it was gonna be okay.
Nine months to the day that I met Roxanne, Niko has a bestest friend with fur that tastes bad and has to be spat out. Roxanne has a pincushion. We have laughter and hilarity ensuing in our home all day. (The downstairs neighbors would like to interject that my "herd of elephants" spend most of the night perfecting their hilarity.)
We have peace and a proper pecking order again.
December rolls in cold and blustery. Spot has now picked up Pancreatitis to go along with his near-blindness, deafness, paralyzed back legs, spondylosis and arthritis. We've learned how to inject Sub Q fluids without vomiting on our cat, and the soothing benefits of Pepcid AC on a cat that can't stop thinking about throwing up. Diabetes comes back every time Spot has a pancreatic flareup, but we are able to get rid of it as easily as the first time. There's a scary episode involving seizures and a midnight run to the ER.
Spot takes all of this in stride, happy to be ministered to and unflappable even after multiple seizures. There is one thing that annoys Spot however. I refer to her as Dr. Scairda Katz. She is more of a dog person, we guess, as she is completely terrified of a cat who can't walk. Spot, who never met a human he didn't like, hates her on sight. Unfortunately for the both of them, Dr. Evil is his acupuncturist and she comes as part of a package deal with her trusty sidekick, Nurse Ballbuster. Spot, having no balls, sets his sights on killing her first, then the doc. Fortunately all humans survive the various trips to the acupuncturist and Spot continues to improve.
Oscar is feeling much better, and venturing around the house as much as he can without being seen. He spends the majority of the day assuming that if he doesn't look at Niko, then Niko can't see him and thus pounce on him. Normally this does not have the desired effect, but Oscar continues practicing. We talk to the animal communicator again. Niko is not happy that he's not the Most Important One. Spot is happy, period. Oscar would like to know if he can have his crunchy food back. All is well.
The day after Christmas, Spot is particularly active. He's walrus-flopping himself inside, outside, and all around the house. I had a brief moment where I wondered if something was about to happen and then brushed it aside. At 10am we had an appointment with a new vet to assess his medications. Jesica and I cart him down to the car, when the first seizure hits. We race to the old vet, where the seizures continue. No one knows why he's seizing, and it's getting worse. Finally Spot loses respirations, and consciousness. We look at him, intubated, asleep, peaceful. We make the terrible decision. There was no decision of course, he couldn't live like that, which made saying it even harder. This was the one thing that Spot couldn't recover from.
We trudge on without our happy boy. We have two more boys who need us. Niko is particularly sad, howling for hours at the door, looking for Spot. Oscar gives no indication that he has noticed, but we know he has. Focusing on Oscar and Niko, we try to give them love in their confusion. In late December, a gift of Lantus arrives. A generous FDMB'er has sent us this insulin to use on Oscar. He loves it! It makes him feel great. For about 10 days.
January 10th I notice that Oscar has gone from sort of eating to not eating. At first I thought the lighter appetite was due to feeling better. This not eating thing couldn't be good though. I rush him to the vet, who is building a new addition from funds I have paid them by now, and discover important things about Oscar and his health. He's dying. He has fluid in his chest, and his heart is turning into stone. He has Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy and is in end stage heart failure. She says we have no time left. I press her. Surely this is not happening to him! It is, she says, but refers us to a cardiologist. The cardiologist agrees, and says we only have weeks to months if we treat. I was devastated. He was just starting to feel better, and life was going to be good for him. There was nothing left to do but treat and pray.
Sadly, Oscar lived only for another 21 days after that diagnosis. He died of heart failure 6 months and 2 days after I brought him into my house. It seemed like a lifetime, but not enough time. He never had a chance, and it was a horrible pill to swallow for us.
And then there was one.. Rest in Peace my heroic boys..
Next post: The Incredible Sadness of Niko
Ken (and Sneakers) has collected Leo from his cage at the vet and brought him to spend the week at Spa Ken. Here's a pic of our boy making himself at home on a soft cushy chair.
It's a beautiful sunny day in August when we drive to Williamsburg to pick up Oscar. Spot has commenced the day sporting a rather gritty pair of cement boots, due to peeing like a racehorse and then stepping in the wet litter. We soak his feet as best as we can and make our way to our new cat. After meeting his parents, and picking him up, we enjoy an eventless ride back home. Oscar is clearly a good car kitty, just looking around quietly, taking in his surroundings. He has ears like radar receivers, looking only slightly ridiculous perched atop a face with the most wise countenance I'd ever seen on a cat. This cat was certainly an Old Soul and I already felt the heartstrings pulling for him.
The new bliss survived only until our return, where we discovered Spot on the kitchen floor, unable to walk. This was not the first time we had discovered Spot in dire circumstances, it had always seemed with Spot that if it was possible to terrorize your human companions, he would find the method. Knowing this about Spot did not make it any less terrifying, as it was Saturday and our regular vet was closed. Spot had recently been diagnosed with spondylosis so we had a pretty good idea of what was happening.
When Monday came, we went to the vet, who suggested euthanasia since his quality of life would surely be destroyed. I assured her we would consider it, but looking at Spot's happy little face, I figured that we would, again, not be sending Spot to the Bridge yet. Spot had already used up many lives and there was no reason to think he was giving up this time either. We talked to an animal communicator. Sure enough, he did not want to give up. We went to acupunture, we practiced walking, we had a cart donated to us by the PZI group on the FDMB. Slowly, but surely, Spot did well overcoming his paralysis and become almost mobile. He wore diapers like a champ, even though he hated them. He had massages, and lots and lots of treats. He was nothing short of a miracle. A happy kitty, robbed of his former graceful self, yet determined to be the best he could be.
Here it is August of 2007 and six months after Spot has kicked his insulin habit. I've returned to my regularly scheduled programming of poker tournaments and other forms of denial, but the crazy cat lady in me cannot be disguised. FDMB is still a daily part of my life; in my desperation to pay it forward, I have literally read every post, every day on the site. I try to help as much as I can - I am so eager to pay down the debt I owe to this miracle group who've saved my cat's life. My friends have no idea what I am talking about most of the time and just kind of look at me - come to think of it, much like one looks at a person they've just identified as a crazy cat lady.
One cat has come to my attention on the board, a young man named Oscar. How can you not notice a cat named Oscar? Oscar was a very troublesome kitty, using an insulin I was familiar with, eating foods we knew to be good, but having much failure with getting better. I tried to help, I tried to ignore what I felt was going to come down to a PTS moment as he was seemingly getting sicker. His Dad tried and tried, but Oscar had some issues with digestion which resulted in what we like to call Colon Blow. Note: By "we", I mean "me", since most people I know refuse to discuss poo issues.
So the day comes, that the post goes up again requesting someone adopt Oscar. I know I must act, or he could be PTS. The baby was allergic and had serious reactions and the Colon Blow situation was getting out of hand.
I talked to Ronnie at length about it and subsequently we decided I should go get this cat. (Again, by "we", I mean "me" since Ronnie does not discuss anything at length.) Here is a transcript of our conversation:
Carolyn: Baby? Baby. Hey Baby. Um so I was on the Feline diabetes board and um you know there's a really sick cat in Northern Virginia and I think the owner might PTS if he doesn't get some help really fast and so I was thinking if I go up there and get the cat and I can work on him and get him better, you know, foster him until I can find him a home and then he won't have to be put to sleep and I know I can make him better because I cured Spot - remember that? - and I know he just needs some new insulin or something and I know his owner is really sad and getting some pressure, and his baby is allergic but he really loves this cat and I don't want to make him put the cat to sleep and I think since I'm the one that responded, I should go get him, like that Proverb where if you save a man's life you're responsible for them for the rest of their life - ok maybe not exactly like that, but you see the correlation, right? Anyway I think I really gotta do this, I would feel terrible if I logged on and saw his GA announcement and I would throw up because I know I can help this cat, knowwhatimean? He really wouldn't be any trouble and we could keep him in Jesica's room, and I mean really now, how hard is it to test and shoot a cat, after learning with Spot, I know I can make this cat better and get him a good home and he's really cute and how can you not love a cat with the name Oscar?!
Baby: *blink*
Carolyn: Oh MY GOD!#!!@@#! Does that mean YES?!!!!! THANK YOU BABY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I love you love you love you!!!!! You are the best man ever!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
And then there were three.
Next post: During the trip to get Oscar, Spot becomes paralyzed.
Ok so I'm standing in the Office Max making copies for our new company on Valentine's Day and my vet calls my cell. She starts talking, gets to feline diabetes and I hear nothing else for about 10 minutes. I don't even know what human diabetes is, so all I'm thinking is "OMG he's gonna die". I tried to tune back into the conversation and she said "I'll understand if you want to put him to sleep." She also said it was treatable, but my needle-phobic self was going to be giving injections twice a day every day for the rest of his life. I told her I'd make an appointment to come back in with him and got off the phone. 20 minutes on the phone and I'd heard nothing but "diabetes" and the clanking of the copy machine.
I was in shock for a few days. I procrastinated. My happy Spot, sick as heck, but still purring, still wanting to hang out with me, still sweet. Two days later I decide to Google feline diabetes. All I knew about diabetes was that one of Jesica's friends had it. After a couple hours of reading, I ran across a site that said Feline Diabetes is Not a Death Sentence. It clicked - it was exactly how I felt. Spot had been given a death sentence and I was responsible for carrying out the execution. Here was this site, telling me I could do this. Excitedly I called Ronnie and told him "I don't have to kill Spot!" He laughed and then I laughed for the first time in days and suddenly I couldn't stop talking about feline diabetes. My friends were horrified - they weren't too excited about my new vocabulary.
I hurriedly made an appointment and learned how to "shoot the cat". I bought the special cat food. He hated it. Niko wasn't too thrilled with the new food either. Meanwhile I'd been reading and learned all kinds of neat stuff, and some really scary stuff. First off, there was a Blood Cult on that site! They all stabbed their cats' ears and tested the blood. What for??! I wasn't gonna do that, that's for sure! Then I was reading the food I'd bought for Spot was all wrong and that I was supposed to be feeding wet food. Hmmm.. was my vet wrong? It seemed so, and I was amazed. I thought vets knew everything.
Out the door I went, and bought 5 flavors of canned Fancy Feast. Spot loved it, Niko hated it. In my haste, since I only half-read anything when I'm in spastic learning mode, I failed to notice that we don't switch our beloved kitties to wet food without reducing the insulin dose. Within 24 hours, I was killing Spot and had no idea why. He looked like a cow manure pile with whiskers. So back to the FDMB to find out what was wrong with my cat. Those crazy-assed blood cult people were still there. They said I had to start torturing my cat to save him. Yeah, riiiiiiiiiiiiight.
I continued looking at threads, trying to find someone who had a cat like mine.. why wouldn't he get better? Then I read the post about Hypoglycemia Symptoms. Oh. My. God. I raced to the Kroger, bullied the pharmacist into teaching me everything I never wanted to know about testing blood glucose and raced back home with my new purchases. I tested Spot right before his next shot was due and damn if he wasn't at 93, a perfectly unshootable number. Yep, I was definitely trying to kill my cat here.
Fast forward 2 weeks: Spot went off the juice.. no more insulin shots! He was diet controlled in under 3 weeks, perfectly healthy, ignoring the water bowl, and happily slurping up his new love - Fancy Feast. With yummy gravy. Niko still hated it, but life was good. Two healthy cats, I had a hero in the form of the FDMB, and was now a virulent member of the Blood Cult on FDMB. My friends couldn't understand anything I said, and were terrified of my new prowess with sharp objects.
So..... back to my poker league I went.. no more crazy cat lady.
Until a few months later.
Next post: When two become three..
This is Spot, the Ferocious Man Kitty. Spot came to me as a young kitten, a stray who'd taken up residence with a friend of my then-husband and his many dogs. He was his own little man from the day he sauntered into my living room, guarding Jesica from sleep demons and briskly prowling the house day and night protecting all within from vicious bugs, deranged attack beetles and the occasional housefly, which we all know to be quite dangerous.
Spot lived in many houses and many states with us, caring for us during countless moves. He tolerated animals of all kinds, often alerting me to a bird in distress or a kitty needing to be rescued. He did all of this with his very best friend in the world - Miss Sammie Wammie. Sammie and Spot were thick as thieves. They did everything together and God help you if they didn't like you!
Miss Sammie was a beautiful, if slightly dim, white kitten when we adopted her about 6 months after we met Spot. Quite tragically for Spot, Sammie died suddenly of cancer at 15. Just like that, our sweet girl was gone.
A couple months later, I noticed my Man Kitty acting in ways I thought meant he was getting senile. He'd follow a water bowl anywhere, he'd literally wrap himself around a water bowl for hours. He attacked his food so voraciously that I was afraid he would choke on it. He had been having much trouble with chronic ear infections and polyps, and had spinal arthritis, so when these oddnesses starting becoming evident, I felt sad and thought that he was in deep mourning. His coat was unkempt, so unlike the beautiful glossy coat he'd had his whole life. I went to the pet store and bought him a furminator.. and met Niko, very sad and lonely in the shelter's huge dog crate. 
Niko was trouble. Big trouble. He was into everything and wanted to be to boss. Spot just wanted his water bowl. I was even sadder because I knew I'd made a mistake thinking Spot would feel better with a friend. He started losing weight. One morning I saw him limping and knew I had to get him some pain pills so I took him to the vet and she ran bloodwork. I was scared, and wondered what she had seen to run bloodwork. Then I got the call.
Spot had diabetes.
*cue cliffhanger music*
Next post: The rest of the story..
Soon we will be a 3 cat household again. We are getting a new kitty, currently named Leo. Leo is a diabetic and coming from the great outdoors where a very nice lady was feeding him. It became clear that he was sick, and was diagnosed with diabetes. He looks pretty wiped out, but I know we can spruce this little man right up. I can't wait to see how he turns out!
I'll be picking him up in Atlantic City on the 29th and bringing him home to meet my 2 spoiled babies then. I am sure they will be thrilled.. *cough*
Say Hello to my new boy!
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