Blest Sunday Steps

Meowllo evewypawdy, meez back. Did you hav a good time wiff Lexi? Isn’t her just da bestest? Well me had a gweat time at da Cat Scout Jamboree, and meez patwol won da Kazoo playin’ contest. And guess what? Me and meez sweet Andy boff got purrmoted to da rank of Cougar. There wuz lots of purrmotions and lots of food and lots of fun. Ifin yous haven’t joined yet, whatcha’ waitin’ fur? Head on over and sign up now. There’s lots of gweat activities commin’ up. 

I'z luv minez nu steps.
I’z luv minez nu steps.

Well it be Blest Sunday again, and ow favowit posty of da week. We posted ow very special Fank you post last week, and told you dat we got da steps fur sis lexi, but we didn’t hav a chance to weally show them off or tell you ‘bout them. So we wanted to take today to do dat. We told you dat they wuz made by hand special fur Lexi and ow bed. And all dat be twu. We picked a set of steps dat we liked and talked wiff Mr. Mike Duffe da owner and cwaftsman of Duff-N-Stuff Pet Steps ‘bout sum specifics. Hims has sum steps in da average measurements, but member weez hav a hospital bed and it be taller than most beds. And we be much bigger than da average household kitty.

Ifin yous can’t see da video, purrlease click here.

So mommy talked wiff Mr. Mike ‘bout da measurements we needed and dat we wanted dat cool back so we kuld use it fur storage. And mommy got da household cawpet cuz it be softer and will hold up much longer wiff us usin’ it as a scwatcher first fing in da meownin’. And mommy also picked out da stain hers wanted fwum a very lawge list. Notice we sed stain and not paint. Know why? Cuz they awe made of REAL wood. Yep da real fing. Not pawticle board or fake wood or plastic. They be steps dat will hold up under way mowe than nowmal kitty use. And cuz they be REAL wood, they can even hold mommy. What we be sayin’ is dat you can weally custom make yous steps. Now we fink Mr. Mike kuld purrawlly make purretty much anyfin’ yous might need, so why don’t yous check out his store wight here. There’s all kinds of goodies.

Ifin yous can’t see da video purrlease click here.

Now back to ow special steps. We kuld hav never got these steps ifin not fur all of you. So we wanna say a meowsy big Fank you again fur givin’ in da fundraiser. We luv these steps. Mommy wishes her kuld move in da meownin’ so hers kuld take da fotos and videos of us puttin’ ‘em fwu it. You know, down da steps to get da chair and then back up da steps to get mommy. And then a scwatch or two and down halfway to da chair and so on. Neever one of us has jumped on da bed since we got them set up. Why shuld we? Those steps awe just pawsum. If yous wecall they came in 2 diffewent boxes so dat meant mommy had to put them togevver fur us, and so we fawt we wuld let her tell you ‘bout dat. So take it away mommy.

Me luvs sissy's new steps too.
Me luvs sissy’s new steps too.

Mommy: Thank you sweety. As Dezi said the steps did come in 2 separate boxes, and arrived a couple of days apart. There were no instructions but it was pretty self explanatory. There were 2 screws and 2 holes that matched up. Can’t get much simpler than that right?. MOL That’s what I thought. The first screw was pretty easy once I figured out how to prop the steps up, but the second was a bit harder to reach. I call them screws, but they didn’t actually have a head for a screwdriver, and not knowing much about tools I don’t know what the tool is called you should actually use. I finally used some large wire cutters because that’s all I have, and was able to tighten the screws in so that the steps are sturdy. I love them as much as the girls. And seeing the look of success on Lexi’s face when she gets on the bed by herself makes those steps priceless.  

 dw stairs

Fank you mommy. Weez sure do luv ‘em. As always we awe so extwemely blest. We hav each udder and all of you and these pawsum steps. We wuld like to ask you to continue to purray fur ow sweet furiend Nylablue and hers mommy Miss Sherri Ellen. There awe so many of ow furiends dat be sick, and so many hav gone to heaven lately dat sum days we don’t know if we wanna visit or read posts. But we do, and we want to know what is going on in yous lives. Dat’s pawt of what makes us all a furmily. Purrlease purray fur Brian and hims furmily. Hims sweet sisfur Sascha pawlogized yesfurday fur havin’ to ask fur mowe purrayers cuz they’ve all been fwu it lately. As much as we hate to hear dat yous not well, weez wuld hate you purrtendin’ all is well way mowe. We only hate hearin’ yous not well, cuz we wish nun of you ever had to be sick or in pain. Ow furiends da Meezers need purrayers, and Easy and his furmily and so many mowe. So what weez weally askin’ is dat you purray fur all da blogospere bloggers today. Just take a minute and purray fur ow fellow bloggers.  

 Dezi and Lexi SMALLEST PRAYERS - 2HEoW-1bB - normal

So till da nex time…………………Be BLest!!!

 

Luv and Hugs and Kitty Kisses 

Dezi and Lexi

Lucky’s Silence Cost…

Meowllo everybody Lexi here and in charge for one more day. Dezi will be coming back from all the fun at the Cat Scout Jamboree today, so I’m going to wrap up our series on UTI’s. I saved Lucky’s story for today because I wanted you all to have a better understanding of this horrid disease, and we needed to prepare ourselves to relive it in writing.

Time fur sum Caturday Art.
Time fur sum Caturday Art.

Lucky was born on April 1st in 1999. He was 28 days older than me. And of course from a completely different litter, mother and father. Mommy rescued him and his 2 brothers when they were 2 weeks old. He was a feisty little kitten and took to mommy right away. And when I came into the picture we became inseparable. He was a great helper for mommy, and another rather large boy. He was a flame point Siamese and very chatty. He and mommy would carry on conversations for hours at a time. And he was a huge mommy’s boy. He would follow mommy everywhere. Altho’ I love to sit in mommy’s lap, Lucky wasn’t big on lap laying. But he would always squeeze into the chair or whatever mommy was sitting on so he could be close to her. We moved with mommy quite a few times in our lives till we ended up where we are now. And he was a happy kitty who just enjoyed life.

 dw Lucky and Lexi3

We both had yearly checkups at the vet and always left with a good report. That’s why his death came as such a shock to us. Let me just say Lucky and me loved to eat. We never wanted to miss a meal. And anytime we didn’t feel good, we wanted mommy to hold us and pray over us which is not typical cat behavior. Normally when a cat is unwell it will hide. Not us tho’, mommy just says it’s because of our unique bonds. So one night 10 years ago December 22 mommy started getting our dinner together and called for us as she always did. Naturally I came running and sat watching mommy prepare our dinner. But Lucky didn’t come to the kitchen. Mommy called and called to him and nothing. Not even a meow. Member I said he wuz really chatty. So mommy told me to wait a minute and she went to look for Lucky.

 dw Lexi and Lucky2

In the bedroom under mommy’s jewelry box Lucky lay. Mommy asked him if he was hungry, which always elicited a loud deep meow. But not this time. He just looked up at her. So mommy reached down and gave him a pat on his head and picked up all 36 pounds of him and carried him to the kitchen. Once there she sat him down and went back to preparin’ our dinner. There was a box in the floor that we had been playing in. Mommy looked over and Lucky was trying to balance on the edge. He made no sound and had no expression that said something was wrong. So mommy brought us our plates. Lucky ate a couple of bites but continued to go to the box and try to balance on it. After a few times, finally he left a drop of urine in the box. Only it wasn’t urine he left, but blood. Mommy had been a vet tech a very long time ago and when she saw the blood she panicked. She grabbed the phone and Lucky and called the VET who said to bring him in immediately.

 dw Lucky and Lexi

Once they arrived at the VETs office Lucky and mommy were rushed to a room and tests began as well as questions. The typical ones, you know, How long has he been straining? How many times a day does he use the litter box. What size were the clumps in the litter box, has he gone outside the box and, has he been yowling?. Unfortunately mommy’s answers were, “this was the first time I noticed anything was wrong. He ate fine this morning and had a great litter box deposit.”  Lucky was poked and palpated and x-rayed and finally the VET came back and said he had a complete blockage. It appeared as tho’ he had scar tissue that had developed over the years and it had almost completely closed his urethra. Mommy begged the VET to fix him and was told he really needed surgery but that couldn’t be done until he was stabilized. She wanted to put a catheter in and let him release the toxins in his bladder and hope they hadn’t already traveled throughout his urinary tract which could end up causing liver failure. Our VET at the time new mommy’s financial situation and so she developed a course of action that required mommy to take Lucky home and watch his catheter and force him to drink water. She wouldn’t discuss payment arrangements with mommy. She said she wanted to try the catheter and see what happens. She told mommy that she couldn’t afford the surgery nor could she afford to leave him at the clinic because they were going to be charging holiday rates for any animal in the clinic until after the new year. At that time mommy had never really dealt with this type of thing before and had no idea how serious it was, much less that it could be deadly. And the VET wasn’t actually giving her any other options.  

 dw Lucky and Lexi2

Assuming our VET had Lucky’s best interest at heart and was trying to help mommy out, she didn’t argue. She brought Lucky back home with his catheter and instructions to put newspaper in the litter box and bring him back in the next day. They were going to be closed for Christmas on the 24th and 25th. Lucky seemed miserable but never once cried out. The next day December 23rd mommy and Lucky again went off to the VET. Not much had changed, and the vet sent mommy and Lucky home once more with instructions to force feed and force water into him. Mommy pleaded with the Vet for something else to help him. She just kept saying there had to be something they could do to help him and take away the pain. The vet told mommy she didn’t have the money for those kinds of treatments and that’s why people in her situation shouldn’t have animals. Mommy cried and cried and tried to force Lucky to eat and drink and we prayed and prayed over him so that he wouldn’t be in pain and he would get better. Mommy called around to other VETs but being the Christmas holidays they had all closed and weren’t seeing new patients on an emergency basis. And mommy new she didn’t have the money if one had actually said yes. I know my mommy, and she woulda gone even without the money if one had said yes. But according to “everyone” we were seeing the best VET for cats in town.

 dw Lexi and Lucky

And then at 3:22 a.m. on December 25th Lucky crawled from mommy’s lap to the litter box and collapsed and died. Following his death mommy researched like crazy and learned everything she could about this horrible illness. She could never find an explanation for why Lucky had scar tissue in the first place, Nor could she determine when if ever he had been stricken with a UTI in the past. How could every VET we had ever seen not have known this? Lucky’s death left us with no answers, only questions. It also almost destroyed mommy because all she could hear over and over again, was the VETs words that people in her situation (poverty stricken) shouldn’t have animals. It wasn’t the first time mommy had been told this, and most certainly wouldn’t be the last. So mommy blamed herself for Lucky’s demise.

 Goodbyes are not ForeverLucky - 2HEoW-16I - normal

Of course we found a new VET after that and mommy did make it as did I, but we were both lost for a very long time. We still miss Lucky but are so grateful that he is no longer in pain, and awaits us in heaven. And mommy named UTI’s the Silent Killer. They can happen to any animal at any time, for no apparent reason. And they can go from mild to deadly in just a few short hours. So again we say to you, if you suspect your cat or other animal is sick or having trouble eliminating/urinating, DON’T WAIT!!! GO TO THE VETRANARIAN ASAP!!! It could mean the difference between life and death. Lucky’s silence cost mommy a piece of her heart, but it cost him his life. 

 A note to my family from Heaven - 2HEoW-12y - normal

We had hoped to have tried this by now, but we’ve had a lot of other things going on and haven’t had the chance. We would be remiss if we didn’t tell you about it tho’. There is a new litter on the market that claims to be able to alert you to problems with a cats urinary tract. And if you order right now, you can get a 1 month supply (14 pounds) for free, just pay $4.95 shipping and handling. Mommy says that if you’ve ever gone through this before, there is no price to high to pay for an early warning. If you’re interested in the Perfect Litter, you may order it here and try it for yourself. We truly hope that we have helped someone and their beloved furry to avoid going thru what we had to with Lucky. Thank you all for reading the blog while Dezi was gone. I know she misses all of you and will be glad to be posting again. We are joining Athena’s Caturday Art Blog Hop. You can see lots of other great photos around today. Have a great Caturday.

And we have a favor to ask of you. Our sweet furiend Nylablue has come to a turning point and isn’t doing well at all. We would ask you to purray fur her and her mommy Miss Sherri Ellen. Fank you.

Till the next time……………Be Blest!!!

 

Luv and Hugs and Kitty Kisses 

Lexi and Cat Scout Dezi

The Silent Killer pt. 2

Meowllo and Happy Furiday to you. Dezi’s still with the Cat Scouts on their Jamboree havin’ a good time, and so I’m still managing her blog. We started telling you all about UTI’s yesterday, and will continue today. If you missed yesterdays post please check it out here

Lucky Lucciano
Lucky Lucciano

So if UTI’s can go unnoticed how then is it detected and diagnosed? As we talked about yesterday your cat may be showing symptoms. Frequent urination, blood in the urine, straining to go, crying out and eliminating outside the box, to name a few. Or your cat may show no signs at all until it’s too late. A vet will perform a visual and physical examination. Most Vets can tell if the bladder is full by palpations. the next step in diagnosing a UTI is a urine test. The best way to collect feline urine is by “cystocetesis”. That means your Vet will insert a needle through the cat’s abdominal wall, puncturing the bladder and aspirating it. Your Vet is looking for the formation of crystals, bacteria, and other sediments that could be causing the infection. It is essential for proper handling of the sample during this time so as not to contaminate it. It is best if the tests occur within the first hour after urine retrieval. It can be refrigerated and brought back to room temperature if the tests can’t be done until later, but if you suspect a UTI your Vet will want to test the sample as soon as possible. The gold standard for diagnosing UTI’s in any species is urine culture and sensitivity testing. This is the type of tests our current Vet uses. Some Vets still send home a special litter for you to put in the litter-box for urine collection. Please if your vet wants to do this test, refuse and request the sample be taken by cystocentesis. Any other sample may be contaminated, and it is  extremely important to know exactly what is causing the infection. A urine culture is often not performed until a round of antibiotics has failed.

 Chart for FLUTD_opt 300 w 326 h

Blood will almost always be taken and tested as well. And while bloodwork is not informative in diagnosing a UTI it may reveal underlying abnormalities that can lead to an infection of the urinary tract. Such as kidney disease, cancer or cushings disease, just to name a few. X-rays and ultrasounds can also be useful in diagnosing and treating UTI’s by allowing the Vet to see the presence and size of any stones and the size of the bladder, kidneys, ureters, urethra and prostate glands (applies to males only). And to identify Kidney or bladder stones or masses that are obstructing the output of urine. 

 feline stones

Once the problem is found and the diagnosis made your Vet will prescribe a course of treatments to assist the animal in getting well. As long as there’s no blockage, your cat will be treated on an outpatient basis. It’s important to take all meds prescribed by your Vet for the amount of time ordered. If there is a blockage the cat may require hospitalization and a catheter. If a catheter is used or surgery is required you will need to watch the animal because infection may set in or scar tissue may result in narrowing the urethra. Thus making the reoccurrence of UTI’s highly probable. The signs and symptoms of a urinary tract infection should subside within 4-7 days following treatment. If your cat is still having difficulties you will need to return to the VET immediately. If there are recurrences your VET may decide to treat it with a prescription diet as well as antibiotics and/or surgery.

flutd_strain

So how can you prevent a UTI in the first place? That’s the million dollar question. Especially since nobody truly knows why living in the same situation, eating the same food and being exposed to the same things, some cats get them and some don’t. But here are a few things you can do. Make sure your cat drinks plenty of water. A water fountain can be a big help as cats do love fresh running water. It has long been accepted that distilled water is best when dealing with cats prone to UTI’s. Scheduled feeding is also recommended. Leaving food available all day means the cats body is constantly working because of the smell. Cats in the wild don’t nibble or eat off and on all day, they hunt, kill, eat and move on. Scheduled feedings are the recommended course of action. As well as a well balanced diet low in ash content. Human tuna fish is one of the worst offenders. You should look for a diet that has an ash content of 5% or less as this has been known to cause UTI’s. Wet foods are also recommended as opposed to dry kibble due to the fact that cats don’t drink a lot. If you’re feeding a raw diet, remember the supplements are very important. Be sure you are providing all the necessary vitamins and minerals so that you don’t cause another medical issue. And before you supplement with vitamins, etc. when feeding a commercial diet, please check with your VET. You can have too much of a good thing. Although cats require certain minerals to digest foods and certain vitamins there are also risks to absorbing too much. And try to avoid stress. We can’t repeat enough, If your cat is crying out, running to the litter box constantly, urinating outside the box or worst yet, going to the litter box and not leaving a deposit, GO TO THE VET IMMEDIATELY!!!

 feline box scared

Well again we have covered a lot of material at once, so we’re going to stop for today and finish up tomorrow. We really appreciate all your support in this effort, and we hope we have been able to bring some things to light that you weren’t aware of. But most of all we hope we can help even one of you to avoid this terrible Silent Killer or at least know what to look for and be able to get help before it’s too late.

Sis Dezi and me love you all.
Sis Dezi and me love you all.

Till the next time……………………Be Blest!!!

 

Luv and Hugs and Kitty Kisses 

Lexi and Cat Scout Dezi

The Silent Killer pt. 1

Meow all, Lexi here with ya’ today. If you remember Dezi is off with the cat scouts having fun with a jamboree. But never fear she left the blog in my paws and I won’t steer ya’ wrong. After all, we have the same mommy. Anyways, we wanna address something very serious over the next couple of days, so that’s why the blog is being written in all human speak. We don’t want to take a chance that somebody can’t understand it and then has to go thru what we did when it could have been avoided. As Dezi has told you, I lost my brofur Lucky to a UTI. A lot of you have never dealt with this, and for that we are so grateful. But over the next couple of days we’re going to be dealing with what mommy calls “The Silent Killer”.

I loved my brofur very much!
I loved my brofur very much!

UTI’s or Urinary Tract Infections are more common than you might think, and are completely curable. So why then did I lose my brofur Lucky you ask? That’s why mommy calls it the Silent Killer. I will be telling his story, but first I would like to give you more information on this potentially fatal illness. I do want to preface this by saying altho’ we will be referring to this as a feline disease and we will be focusing on cats, this post in it’s entirety applies to all animals; dogs, rabbits, pigs, etc..

I’ll start by giving you all the definition of a UTI. It’s a bacterial, fungal, viral or algal infection developing anywhere along the animals urinary tract. The urinary tract consists of the kidneys, ureters, bladder, urethra and/or prostate gland (applies to males only). The urethra is the tube from the bladder to the outside that urine travels through. They can also be called FLUTD (Feline Lower Urinary Tract Disease), FUS (Feline Urologic Syndrome), FIC (Feline Idiopathic Cystitis), and Interstitial Cystitis. Now if those aren’t some big words…And since it covers such a large area and can go by so many names are you starting to see why mommy calls it the Silent Killer? It could be as simple as stress to stones or a complete blockage of the urethra. Altho’ UTI’s are more common in males, females are not immune. If you look at the photos, you will be able to see why males are more prone to a blockage. The urethra is longer and has a rather large bend in it whereas a females urethra is shorter and has an almost direct route to the outside.

Male Urinary Tract
Male Urinary Tract
Female Urinary Tract
Female Urinary Tract

What are the causes of this horrid disease you ask? Let me tell you what 2 different websites have to say, and you’ll really start to understand mommy’s frustration. Pet MD says UTI’s can be caused by Stones, Crystals, a urethral plug, bladder inflammation, injury, incontinence from excessive water drinking, stress, spinal cord problems or congenital abnormalities. And most of these are symptoms, not causes. But the vet section of Web MD says what most VETs say, and that is, a disease that arises spontaneously, or for which the cause is unknown. In other words, nobody is certain, or at least they can’t truly agree exactly what is the cause of this disease. Although for the most part they can at least agree on some of the causes, those being diet, stress, liquid intake, and injuries to the urethra. This horrible disease can affect any animal at any age, altho’ it is most often diagnosed/seen in males between the age of 1 and 5 years old. Now you’re starting to see why Dezi’s recent 5th birthday was such a landmark for mommy. We lost Lucky right before he turned 5 and Ransom also had this horrible disease and we lost him right before he turned 5.

Mommy calls this disease a silent killer. While some cats will show no symptoms until it’s too late or the disease has progressed to it’s final stages, it’s not uncommon for animals with a UTI to cry out while using the litter box. Or eliminate inappropriately; like in your bath tub, or on the floor or in your plants, etc.. It hurts to urinate and they associate the litter box with that pain and don’t want to go back there. Typically there is blood in the urine as well, and as the blockage increases, the cat will strain to urinate. I would like to interject here that a normal urine sample for cats is at least a tablespoon size amount at a minimum of 2 times a day. Now remember that will vary based on your cats size, age, liquid (diet) intake and other health issues.

The symptoms aren’t always immediate, and of course as with everything else, some of them could point to something entirely different. Some of those symptoms are lethargy, loss of appetite, fever, depression, and licking excessively around the penis or vaginal area especially right after urinating as this may be a sign of burning during urination. Often mild cases often go undiagnosed in cats specifically until discovered during a routine annual checkup, and may often clear up on their own.

Lucky Lucciano
Lucky Lucciano

We really want to do this justice, so we will continue tomorrow as we have given you a lot of information to digest today. But before we go, we want to say that if you suspect your cat or animal is having difficulty urinating or may have a UTI please go to the VET immediately!!! Don’t wait, it may mean the difference between life and death.

Till the next time………………………Be Blest!!!

 

 

Luv and Hugs and Kitty Kisses 

Lexi and Cat Scout Dezi