Wednesday, June 01, 2016

Pepper and Lucy's Day. Or, Road Trip with the Old Gals

Pepper, formerly mat cat from the Sweet Home trailer park, waits to see the vet today.

Lucy is not so sure she wants to see the vet.  That look!
Today Lucy, Pepper and I headed off to the north coast to the affordable clinic.  Lucy and Pepper both come from the same Sweet Home trailer park.  Both were in deep trouble when I found them.

I was worried when I first saw Pepper.  I hadn't seen her since she went to Lebanon to get the rest of her mats shaved off.  And she looked even thinner perhaps, had this glazed eye look, and head tilt.  Oh no, I thought.  Plus she felt hot to the touch and her heart was just beating to beat the band.  Hyperthyroid, I wondered.  Would explain a lot.

So they both got blood work to test for kidney function and thyroid.  It's standard old cat stuff.  Pepper also was tested for FIV/Felk--negative on both accounts.  Both got droncit and rabies vaccines.   Lucy needed just one extraction but got metronizadole take home for possible giardia.  Pepper however had six extractions and a convenia injection and came home with tresaderm as the vet believes her head tilt is an ear infection.  Her kidney function is good but her thyroid function is not.  It's off the charts.  Pepper has hyperthyroidism.

So she came home with pills.  She will get one twice a day and be rechecked in a month.  The pills are tiny and easy to get down a cat, especially one that gulps wet food.  The vet hopes this will help her greatly have some quality of life, and gain some weight.

It was a long day.  As usual I had trouble sleeping because I anticipate the alarm going off and don't want to mess up and be late.  I'd had the car tire pressure checked, checked the oil and water all that.  Guess I'm kind of OCD about many things.

But the trip went smoothly.  I conked out an hour or so in the clinic's parking lot after leaving the pair of lovable beloved old gals there, entrusted to the clinic's care now, leaving me free to escape into dreamland.

Then I hit the beach.

So did the surfers.  In Oregon, you surf with a nice thick wet suit or a dry suit.

You have to be dedicated, let's say.




Then it was back to the usual beach the Peter Iredale shipwreck beach.  More sand erosion has really revealed the skeletal remains of the long lost ship.

It is an artistic wonder in its slow decay.




I took my shoes off, tied the shoelaces together and slung them over my shoulder so I could wade.  I got wet and I enjoyed it.  Despite the dead gunk lining the sand at surf's edge and in the water.  What are these dead things?



The overlook again, at south jetty.


Pepper will stay here overnight before she goes home tomorrow.   On the way home, I picked up two girl kittens from an Albany apartment.  The woman called me today, while I was sound asleep.  I thought it was someone else, awakened like that, in my car, snoozing, dreaming something pleasant.  She was reminding me they needed fixed.  I had promised.  Their mom got fixed beginning of May I think it was.   But seems like a long time ago.

They're in the garage now looking none too happy with the change in circumstance.  Tomorrow they get fixed.

Well, the cost was quite a lot more than I'd expected, given Pepper's issues.   Came in at $563.  We raised a bit over $400 in the fundraiser and I was sure that would do it, but I didn't realize Pepper had the problems.  That's ok.  Happy she is taken care of.  She's an old gal.  When we get old, things start falling off and out and malfunctioning.   It's just life.


11 comments:

  1. Thank you.
    So much.
    And yes, that 'I do not want to see the vet - and it is all your fault look'...

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    Replies
    1. Ha! I hate going to the doctor too though. I'd rather do anything else!

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  2. Anonymous3:07 AM

    Smallish waves, maybe good for novices. The fully exposed shipwreck it interesting, for sure. I await a knowledgeable person's thoughts on those dead things.

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    Replies
    1. Yes, not much surf yesterday and mostly those guys just paddled around out there. I got kind of disgusted watching them. Boring!!! I hope someone who knows will post an answer on what those dead things are, too, Andrew, would be nice to know.

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  3. One of my old cats has hyperthyroidism and is responding well to his meds. I hope the same for Pepper. Also, always enjoy your beach pictures.

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    Replies
    1. That is good to hear and hopefully Pepper will respond well too. She sure is easy to pill. She'll be going back to her new home this evening. I enjoy the beach, love wading in the surf, always have.

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    2. I suppose could be a molt again, like the crabs that molt their shells, even legs, as they grow, that then litter the beach certain times a year.

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  4. Wow! Poor kitties. They're so fortunate you found them. My kitty with hyperthyroidism became impossible to medicate until I got a liquid formulation. She would spit out those tiny pills no matter what I wrapped or placed them in. Pill Pocket treats worked briefly, just long enough for me to spend money stocking up on them. ~sigh~ She's the one I lost to cancer on August 5, 2014 and we still miss her daily.

    Thank you for sharing more fabulous photos! Be well, my dear.

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    Replies
    1. I like the cheap pill guns, Darla, they work so well, or if even that's a problem, with pills not time release, I just crush them with a dollar store pill crusher, and mix the powder into half cc of liquid and syringe it down the cat.

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    2. My cat with hyperthyroidism is impossible to pill, so we are doing the gel in the ear. The vet said that it is one of the meds that is absorbed well, and as I said, it is working for my cat. A little swipe a day in his ear flap and we're done.

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    3. Wow, thanks, will tell the woman who has adopted Pepper about the gel!

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