Hubris

Thanks, Sharon. The healing is going great!

Back from the vet, and my tortie Quin has blocked tear ducts. Not the end of the world, but we'll try to get them to open with ...... *drum roll* Eyedrops!!! Yes, a single drop with both antibiotic and steroid in it. Wish mine were combined and as cheap!!! Eyedrops are not nearly so difficult to administer as pills. I had to put eyedrops in another cat earlier in the year. But the kitty burrito is also good for trimming Shaft's claws. In fact, it's the only way to trim his. Quin and Sluggo, being ladies, allow me to do it.

Cat antibiotics are relabeled pediatric formulations. That's why. So, which is worse? Bubble gum or strawberry? My cats don't care for either. I'm not crazy about the goopy pink stuff that gets sprayed all over.

Ok. This was a few years back when we still lived in southern Indiana. We always had mice in the attached garage in the fall. Always. Miss Tickles was not really allowed out of doors because there were several dogs that roamed the neighborhood. Big dogs. And she wasn't really allowed in the garage because she would always get herself into trouble. (playing in Daddy's tool boxes. uh oh!!) To deal with the mice, we would set traps. We couldn't find any of the traditional snap traps one fall, so we wound up with glue boards. It's just a flat board with foam permeated with industrial strength glue in the middle. Put a few of those out in the garage.

Well, one morning, DH was going outside and Tickles insisted she MUST go out in the garage with him. So he let her. Then when he came back in, she refused to come inside. He figured she smelled a mouse and wanted privacy to bring in the kill. She's a really good mouser. So he let her stay out there.

A little while later, he went to see if he could coax her inside. She was waiting for him at the door mewling pitifully. He opened the door and she ran inside (he assumed she was just upset at being cold. The garage was not heated.) She came into the kitchen and he heard this weird noise.....skritch, thump, skritch, thump. He looked down and saw she had one of the glue boards stuck to her hind foot. Uh oh!!

He got a hold of her and was carefully, gently able to peel the glue board off her paw without hurting her. Then she was ready to escape. Well that was all fine and good except for the fact that she still had glue on her paw. She shot under Mommy's bed to hide. We didn't think too much about it till later that day when she came back into the kitchen. I noticed she was skidding across the tile. Strange to say the least. Well, from being under the bed, she had managed to collect for herself a "sock" of dog hair, dust bunny, etc. Coated her entire paw. So when she tried to walk she was sliding around on that one foot. Yes, a cat really can look totally uncoordinated and ungainly.

I called the vet and I posted here to see what we could do to take the glue off. The answer was to get some grain alcohol. You know the really cheap booze??? Yep. It's potent stuff, but dirt cheap. So I called DH who had gone to work by then.

Best part of the story.... He stopped at the liquor store on the way home from work and got a bottle of the stuff. The cashier said "Oh looks like someone is planning to Party tonight." DH laughed and said "No. It's not for me. It's for my cat." LOL Then he had to explain the whole thing.

Upon the advice of the vet (and several folks on here) What we did was use the alcohol to dissolve most of the glue, then we rubbed her foot down with vegetable oil. That way if there was anything left on her foot, it would be fine for her to lick it off.

She was NOT amused.

We wrapped her up burrito style, with the one foot sticking out. I held her on my lap like a baby. And between us we were able to use the alcohol to remove the dust bunny/dog fur sock, unstick two of her toes that were stuck to each other, and remove enough of the glue so she could finally retract the one claw that was glued out all day long. She was not pleased with how cold (she HATES to be cold) it was, and she gave us both the death look when we unwrapped the towel. But what was really funny was watching her curl and stretch her toes. You know how us gals do when we've worn high heels all day long? That was how she acted and the look she had on her face.

The dog thought she smelled really interesting too. She was pretty quick to tell him she did not appreciate his "concern." lol

Needless to say, she is much more careful about where she steps now. ;)

Sharon

That was also my reaction! I only discovered I had cataracts when I went to be evaluated for Lasik, and the ethical doctor told me Lasik would not improve my vision very much because I had a coffee-colored lens sitting in there that needed to be replaced. I was delighted following surgery to see how lovely the world still is! ;-)

I was severely nearsighted from a young age. I was offered the option of having perfect correction for distance in one eye, and correction that would have been 'OK' for reading in the other. I just couldn't wrap my mind around how that would be an improvement over just using reading glasses, and I'm happy with my decision.

Isn't it??? Also, being able to SEE IN THE SHOWER! Wow! Haven't been able to do that since I gave up contact lenses. ;-)

Beverly

OMG!!! The indignity!!! Everyone knows the most vulnerable part of a cat is her dignity. *muffling laughter so my cats won't hear*

I had contacts like that. One eye for distance, another for closeup, and a third for when I wanted matching eyes. I found that was the one I wanted to wear.

That was the first thrill of contacts. That and realizing that grass is made up of individual blades. I wore contacts from 1958 to 1988 when they forced me into gas-permeable lenses that itched like the dickens. By then they had come up with plastic lenses that didn't leave gouges in a person's nose and ears. The glasses I have now are made of a super-lightweight material for lenses and titanium frames. Light as a feather and no "Coke bottle bottom" lens effect.

That and seeing while swimming! ...and walking in the rain! ...and opening the DW or oven door without fogging up! ...

I bought my first pair of (hard) contacts in 1960, and spent several miserable months getting them "broken in" (remember that?). But once they were comfortable I loved them! I switched to gas-permeable lenses after several years (when they first became available), and also loved them. I only quit wearing contacts when I learned that I had to discontinue wearing them for "one month per year of use" in order to have Lasik. That meant 38+ months of not wearing contacts, and back to the nasty Coke-bottle bottom specs (even with high-tech plastic lenses, they were about 1/4" thick on the edges). UGH!

By the time I learned I wasn't a good candidate for Lasik, I was uncomfortable wearing contacts again, probably due to decreased tear production. Cataract lens-implant surgery is the best thing since sliced bread, IMHO! I miss being able to take off my glasses and thread a needle about 3" from my face, but it's a very worthwhile trade-off, I can easily use a magnifying glass for that.

Beverly

I was listening to the radio yesterday as a person talked about the way that children are toilet trained these days. That discussion was interesting in itself as she mentioned that there were children these days aged more than 3 who were still pooping in their nappies (diapers). Ugh.

But then she went on to talk about the environmental impact of cloth vs disposable vs nappy service providers and in that discussion she talked about fashion and how these days people buy what she called Landfill Fashion. Buy it, wear it for a year and throw it out.

Hearing this whilst driving back from the shops where I'd seen rack after rack of this crud clothing, I thought how right she was to call it that. Cheap and nasty fabric, appalling sewing and finishing and although offered in different sizes it all had that look of (shudder) "one size fits all" about it.

I must be getting old.

Fran

Oh, yes!!! I'm back to fogging up with my glasses now. Fortunately, I use the oven so rarely..... And don't swim anymore.

The theory I developed was that one has to develop calluses on the inside of the eyelid. Otherwise, it spends so much time trying to eject the foreign body.

This really does make the surgery worthwhile, and even desirable. That's saying something for me -- I really don't like invasive treatment.

Nor do I, which is why I'm still hobbling around on these OEM knees. ;-}

Beverly

I have a 7 year-old Persian, and because Persians tend to drip tears that turn into that goopy brown stuff, they require regular eye-care (washing the fur around the eyes, eye-wash administered as eye-drops, artificial tear eye-drops and an antibiotic powder dusted around the eye as needed) so I'm quite good at it. If you need any tips or tricks, let me know, and I'll be glad to help.

OTOH, she's a pure-bred show-cat (now retired) so she is quite docile and cooperative when it comes to baths & blow-dry, grooming, the vet - in fact any human handling, having been groomed and bathed since she was a little kitten, so I may have an easier time with it than you will.

But if you need help, just let me know. Good luck, and I hope your kitty heals quickly!

Thanks, Serge. She's being cooperative. She's really a special cat, you know how once in a while you have a cat that really touches you in a different way? I've had about four out of probably 20 cats I've had in my life. The rest were fine, just didn't have that special quality.

Persians are very different. I had a show-quality Persian years ago -- I've got stories about her. Sheesh! The little feral cat I recently had to help out of this world was a Persian, too -- no "papers" -- she showed up in my yard, possibly abandoned, but had no interest in moving indoors. I became very fond of her and miss her still.

Quin's eye problem is not serious or life-threatening. If we did nothing at all, she would be fine. Just need to wash her face often, which she does anyway. But thank you!

How's the hip doing?

Have you read about this?

And this?

I still have hip pain, diagnosed as bursitis, which interferes with a good night's sleep, which was my original reason for seeing an orthopedist. The orthopedist suggested that my hip pain was a result of the way I walk to protect my arthritic knees and that I would eventually need knee replacement. When I saw an orthopedic surgeon, she would offer no opinion as to whether knee replacement would ameliorate the hip pain, however, so I'm postponing it...maybe forever.

Beverly

that information was in the science section of the local paper recently. However, the surgery under discussion for me is not arthroscopic, it's total replacement. Beverly

also addresses "Arthroscopic surgery to relieve osteoarthritis of the knee,..." and later "For severe disease, total joint replacement is a very effective form of therapy. This study de-emphasizes the middle step of arthroscopic surgery.". None of the doctores I have seen have suggested that I should have arthroscopic repair of my knees.

Beverly

I can relate. You would do it if your current situation were intolerable. As long as you can tolerate.... Who knows what the next study will reveal, or the newest treatment now being studied but not yet announced.

er - I can guess what's coming ...

Foolish ...

Poor thing! Daddy's fault!

... more foretelling the future!

I've only seen that once, when our huge and very elegant and snooty Siamese cross fell into a bath full of water!

It's what my best friends swears by.

For drinking!

No ...

It's a long time since I wore high heels but I know what it looks like when I try to resolve a foot cramp :-)

Great story, thanks!

Mary