Just a quick update on Elvis.
Yesterday we (Randall and I, sans Elvis) went out to Dr. Walthall's office to pick up more meds.
While we were there, I asked Melody if she thought Dr. Walthall would want to see him in the near future. Basically, Melody said that if things were going well, there was no need to subject him to the stress of a visit.
And, well, things ARE going well. Elvis rarely has to have a Torbutrol (maybe 1/2 pill every 10 days to two weeks), his weight is really good and he's eating like a pig. The small daily dose of Prednisone has handled the wheezing he used to plagued by, and the diuretics appear to be doing their job. His monthly heartworm tablets aren't giving him any trouble, either. No coughing a day or two after he gets them - which is what he was doing originally.
All in all, I couldn't be more pleased with the way he's doing. I think the little stumpy fellow has surprised us all with his resiliency.
We're also approaching a very special date. On July 13, it will be one year since we brought him home to foster. We were surprised (and very pleased) when he made it to Christmas since he was in really bad shape last July. I told Randall earlier in the week that I suspect Elvis will be with us a good long while. As long as he's responding to his medication and nothing else goes wrong, I really believe Elvis will be here longer than anyone ever thought.
So this is where we are. I'm hoping to get some new pics and maybe a video or two of him before July 13 so I can post them for his Fosterversery.
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Doomed shelter dogs airlifted to homes in the Northwest
Doomed shelter dogs airlifted to homes in the Northwest
The day we met, the occupants of Row D, cages 3-11 at the Dallas Animal Services Adoption Center were mercifully oblivious to how close they were to being snuffed out like match flames.
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/localnews/columnists/jfloyd/stories/062810dnmetfloyd.1b892b3.html
Friday, June 18, 2010
Update June 18, 2010
Not really much in the way of an update here because I'm still working on integrating the foster cat into the household.
Elvis is doing well, though he is less than thrilled with having a new cat in the house. And, well, it's not just because Ollie is a big, black cat, but because Ollie is never at a loss for something to say. As a matter of fact, Ollie spends most of his time talking, and that tends to make Elvis nervous. It has though, seemingly occurred to Elvis that while Ollie talks a lot, he doesn't back that up with any missions to assault dogs.
That's a huge improvement over Howdy, who not only talks, but knows which buttons of Elvis' to push and is happy to do so...repeatedly. Of course, it doesn't help that Howdy and Ollie are still getting acquainted, and that's accompanied with much hissing and spitting on Howdy's end of things.
Elvis has decided that staying well out of range is his best bet, so he's well and truly ensconced under Randall's desk. Fortunately all the extra activity hasn't translated into extra coughing that requires either a Torb or Valium to deal with.
So things are moving along here, and Elvis is taking most of it without too much upset. I'll update again in a few day.
Elvis is doing well, though he is less than thrilled with having a new cat in the house. And, well, it's not just because Ollie is a big, black cat, but because Ollie is never at a loss for something to say. As a matter of fact, Ollie spends most of his time talking, and that tends to make Elvis nervous. It has though, seemingly occurred to Elvis that while Ollie talks a lot, he doesn't back that up with any missions to assault dogs.
That's a huge improvement over Howdy, who not only talks, but knows which buttons of Elvis' to push and is happy to do so...repeatedly. Of course, it doesn't help that Howdy and Ollie are still getting acquainted, and that's accompanied with much hissing and spitting on Howdy's end of things.
Elvis has decided that staying well out of range is his best bet, so he's well and truly ensconced under Randall's desk. Fortunately all the extra activity hasn't translated into extra coughing that requires either a Torb or Valium to deal with.
So things are moving along here, and Elvis is taking most of it without too much upset. I'll update again in a few day.
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Coughing problems....
Not particularly severe, but it's definitely increased some.
I've suspected all along that, like with people who have breathing issues (my dad with COPD is a good example), increased humidity causes some difficulty for Elvis. And it has been REALLY humid here...yesterday we had record rainfall for Waco (nearly 7 inches at our house in 3-4 hours) and yesterday Elvis had to have a 1/2 Torb.
Today it's a little less humid, so there's less coughing, but he's still exhibiting some aggravated breathing problems. It's the sort of thing I like to keep an eye on since too much coughing causes him to pant and lose moisture. Once that happens, dehydration is a real issue for him. So that's something I like to keep strictly under control.
One more issue is he is now really, REALLY concentrating on food. LOL
I was in the front room with the new foster cat (Ollie is still in quarantine), and I kept hearing this noise outside the bedroom door. First I thought it was Haley with **A New Noise**, but then I realized it really didn't sound like her voice. And when I opened up the door, everyone was there so I wasn't any wiser. However, it kept going on, and I realized where I'd heard it before...Elvis at the dinner table when we're done eating and he's angling for handouts. I open the door again, and he's the only one in the hall, so I knew it was him.
Bless his heart. He has gotten so food oriented it's unreal. And since I go in to see THE EVIL CAT and SHUT THE DOOR....well, it's obvious I'm going to come to some sort of great harm and he'll miss being fed his dinner and getting handouts from ours!
He's got the rustiest little voice, but since he didn't start coughing, I didn't see any real reason to try and keep him away. If it starts becoming an issue, then I'll have to be sure he's in the den with the gate closed when I go in to see Ollie at 4:30 or so. And fortunately, I hope to have Ollie out of isolation by this time next week (which won't really improve Elvis' life since he's so frightened of cats).
I've suspected all along that, like with people who have breathing issues (my dad with COPD is a good example), increased humidity causes some difficulty for Elvis. And it has been REALLY humid here...yesterday we had record rainfall for Waco (nearly 7 inches at our house in 3-4 hours) and yesterday Elvis had to have a 1/2 Torb.
Today it's a little less humid, so there's less coughing, but he's still exhibiting some aggravated breathing problems. It's the sort of thing I like to keep an eye on since too much coughing causes him to pant and lose moisture. Once that happens, dehydration is a real issue for him. So that's something I like to keep strictly under control.
One more issue is he is now really, REALLY concentrating on food. LOL
I was in the front room with the new foster cat (Ollie is still in quarantine), and I kept hearing this noise outside the bedroom door. First I thought it was Haley with **A New Noise**, but then I realized it really didn't sound like her voice. And when I opened up the door, everyone was there so I wasn't any wiser. However, it kept going on, and I realized where I'd heard it before...Elvis at the dinner table when we're done eating and he's angling for handouts. I open the door again, and he's the only one in the hall, so I knew it was him.
Bless his heart. He has gotten so food oriented it's unreal. And since I go in to see THE EVIL CAT and SHUT THE DOOR....well, it's obvious I'm going to come to some sort of great harm and he'll miss being fed his dinner and getting handouts from ours!
He's got the rustiest little voice, but since he didn't start coughing, I didn't see any real reason to try and keep him away. If it starts becoming an issue, then I'll have to be sure he's in the den with the gate closed when I go in to see Ollie at 4:30 or so. And fortunately, I hope to have Ollie out of isolation by this time next week (which won't really improve Elvis' life since he's so frightened of cats).
Saturday, June 05, 2010
You know Elvis is desperate...
...when he pokes his head into the bathroom where I feed Howdy at 5:00 because he wants to be REALLY sure The Foodlady is coming back. LOL
Seriously, as terrified of cats as he is, it was a huge surprise to see his little muzzle peeking around the corner to check on my progress feeding Howdy. He's been lurking closer and closer outside that door for the last week or so because 30 minutes after I feed her, I feed him. And that is VERY important to Elvis. But still, I never expected to turn around and see him poking his nose through the door.
He's gone from the boy who ate to live to the boy who lives to eat. :)
Another bit of news is that he did make it all week without any sort of coughing from his heartworm pill. This is a definite plus in my book particularly since we never thought he'd ever even get to a heartworm pill in the first place.
Tomorrow I grill out a pork loin. This will be one of the first that I've done in ages, and I suspect he'll learn the joys of "grill guarding" with the other two. With any luck I'll manage to snap some pictures because I suspect he'll be pretty close by.
Seriously, as terrified of cats as he is, it was a huge surprise to see his little muzzle peeking around the corner to check on my progress feeding Howdy. He's been lurking closer and closer outside that door for the last week or so because 30 minutes after I feed her, I feed him. And that is VERY important to Elvis. But still, I never expected to turn around and see him poking his nose through the door.
He's gone from the boy who ate to live to the boy who lives to eat. :)
Another bit of news is that he did make it all week without any sort of coughing from his heartworm pill. This is a definite plus in my book particularly since we never thought he'd ever even get to a heartworm pill in the first place.
Tomorrow I grill out a pork loin. This will be one of the first that I've done in ages, and I suspect he'll learn the joys of "grill guarding" with the other two. With any luck I'll manage to snap some pictures because I suspect he'll be pretty close by.
Thursday, June 03, 2010
Settling the new foster in
Yes. There is a new foster in the house. Ollie, a very large, very handsome, black, 9 year old Oriental Shorthair mix. We brought him in on Tuesday (much to Elvis' disgust), and he's currently occupying the guest room where he'll stay in quarantine for the next 2 weeks.
He's got a blog (of course!!) located at http://wacofostercat.blogspot.com/ and he'll have a photo gallery somewhere. Elvis' has had his over on Keep and Share, but I'll be honest, while they have an outstanding calendar, their photo album function well and truly sucks. So expect us to take our photo storage business elsewhere soon.
Things are quiet with Elvis right now since I'm concentrating on getting Ollie settled in. He was an owner surrender and was at the shelter for a month. He has turned into an unbelievably ecstatic cat who is just deliriously happy that he has a home with people.
I hope to have more on Elvis here in the next several days. I will say his weight is good and his heartworm treatment (Monday night) went off without a hitch...no extra coughing a day or so later, so fingers crossed, he's going to start taking his pills without any side effects.
I'll post more in the next few days once things are a bit more settled.
He's got a blog (of course!!) located at http://wacofostercat.blogspot.com/ and he'll have a photo gallery somewhere. Elvis' has had his over on Keep and Share, but I'll be honest, while they have an outstanding calendar, their photo album function well and truly sucks. So expect us to take our photo storage business elsewhere soon.
Things are quiet with Elvis right now since I'm concentrating on getting Ollie settled in. He was an owner surrender and was at the shelter for a month. He has turned into an unbelievably ecstatic cat who is just deliriously happy that he has a home with people.
I hope to have more on Elvis here in the next several days. I will say his weight is good and his heartworm treatment (Monday night) went off without a hitch...no extra coughing a day or so later, so fingers crossed, he's going to start taking his pills without any side effects.
I'll post more in the next few days once things are a bit more settled.
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