Sick, sick, sick...

Sorry for the absence yesterday, I was sick as the proverbial dog with a cold. I tried my best not to be sick by using positive self-talk to convince myself that it was just allergies. It didn't work, and by the end of the day I was walking around the office with my nose buried in a tissue because it wouldn't stop imitating a faucet. So when I got home there were only two things that interested me - dinner and a nap on the couch. Both were wonderful.

You know one of the greatest things about having cats? They seem to think that taking a nap with you is fun, so they're always up for curling up and snoozing. We have two cats, and they're both full of character and have very unique personalities. Our male cat is like the elder statesman (he's 15 years old) who's seen it all, and our female cat (she's 7, can't believe that, seems like just yesterday she was a little kitten) is very loving and snuggly, and is somehow attracted to female-type activities - sewing, makeup, hairstyling - when I do any of these, GirlCat is right there.

BoyCat is diabetic, and that has made life interesting in our household. The most frequently asked question I get is, how did you figure out or find out that your cat is diabetic? Well, diabetes presents the same way in cats as it does in humans. The most noticeable symptoms are extreme thirst, extreme urination, unexplained weight lost, increased appetite. BoyCat lost a lot of weight pretty quickly, seemed to be hungry all the time, drank huge amounts of water, and peed very frequently. We took him to the vet who ran bloodwork to test for several different possibilities, and the tests showed that his blood sugar was much higher than it should have been. All this happened about a year ago. Now BoyCat gets a shot of insulin twice a day, and he has to eat special cat food to help him manage his diabetes. We take him to the vet periodically for a blood test to make sure his insulin dose is still correct. He's doing so much better - he's put some of his weight back on, so he's back to his fighting weight. He does pretty well with his shots, because he's a smart cat and about a week into this whole routine he made the connection that the shots made him feel better, and that was when he stopped resisting the needle. He still grumbles a bit but he holds still while I give him his shot. That's a real blessing, because cat rodeos are no fun.

I am looking forward to feeling better and getting back to the rabblerousing and muckracking that I so enjoy. In the meantime, tea and couch are calling.

Later,
AuntieM