Got the camera on my phone working today. You can see what Cass & Becca are dealing with in regards to Debby. They were dry again this morning so my girls are staying out of the weather.
The drive to the barn.
We’ve got a moat forming on the side of the run-in shed.
Don’t think we’ve seen the sun since Saturday.
I believe Cass is becoming annoyed. She doesn’t like to be soaked. She also doesn’t like the volume of the rain hitting the roof. Once in a while isn’t so bad but non-stop for going on 4 days is a bit much!
Cass is ready for her mid-morning nap. Becca’s still snacking.
Nose is in the corner.
Checking to see if I happen to have a treat.
It’s really, really nap time.
Puddle outside shed door.
Muck outside the other door. See the hoof print?
Think of that movie, yet?
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid starring Paul Newman and Robert Redford! The song was part of a goofy montage in the film but what a great song… and movie. “I’m never gonna stop the rain by complaining.”
We are in the midst of Tropical Storm Debby. This gal certainly sneaked up on us! Looks like she’s going to be sitting over top of us all week – geesh!
This brings back bad memories from 2008, a few months after Beccca was born. That storm was Fay and she hung out far too long.
I couldn’t get my camera phone to work this morning. With Debby being such a tropical gal she’s got our humidity way up. I think that was messing with it. My smart girls were not soaked! They were even a bit reluctant to come out from their shed to eat breakfast. Finally the lure of the food in the dry barn won out. There are small ponds forming in low spots but the girls are safe and dry… that’s all that matters.
You don’t see Scottie a lot on our blog. He’s usually behind the camera. He’s a huge part of our animal world. I want to share just a bit of him with all of you. You’ll probably figure out why we love him so much.
His 1st rescue, unfortunately the owner showed up.
Scottie & Eva who was my surprise anniversary present!
Scottie claimed Becca before she was even born.
Sleeping w/our nearly 18 yr old minpin, Ramirez, a few months before he would pass.
I think of him every time I hear Elvis. Anytime I take a swig of Listerine. When I strike up a conversation with a stranger or make his famous ‘egg in the hole’.
This was him.
I will always have one of his handkerchiefs in my purse.
This was him.
He used to send me up the hill to collect golf balls as he practiced chipping. I got good at dodging them.
This was him.
He’d toss me onto the roof with ease when it was time to clean out the gutters. He’d follow along on the ground and I never feared falling. No doubt he’d catch me.
This was him.
I always felt protected… sometimes a little too protected. Any boys who came around will attest to that.
It still amazes me that I can use an electric clipper on Cass. She stands perfectly still, I don’t even have to hold her lead rope. Getting to this was certainly not an overnight process.
Patience has been the key. Neither one of us has been in any kind of hurry. We took the time to learn each other and more importantly, trust each other. Learning the clippers was in baby steps. First the noise only, then to have her actually look at the clanging thing was a big step. But to have her remain calm while the clipper touched her was huge! So proud of my girl.
Her mane is cut for two reasons. 1. She is a Fjordhorse and that’s the way they should be cut. 2. It’s more comfortable for her in dealing with our heat and her allergies. I can get the magical potions into her skin easier when her tremendously thick mane is short.
She was more than happy to pose after her hair cut. It grows out fast, as does her forelock. She needed all that hair up in Canada.
Her daughter has me in a dilemma. I’ve been letting her mane grow. She’s adorable this way, don’t you think?
She’s a bit like Tina Turner from the ’80’s. If left to grow it will get quite long. Cass’s was nearly to her shoulder when I got her.
Am I not trimming hers in the proper Fjordhorse way because I think she’s better this way or because I don’t want to deal with making her behave? Becca has a much shorter attention span than her mother. I’ve made a few feeble attempts to desensitize her to the clippers and it’s just not gone well. We really need to work on it. Tomorrow. Maybe.
There’s serious grass eating they need to do today.
I know too much about failing kidneys in dogs and now I can add cats to the list. Sigh. Our 1st puppy mill minpin, Mia, taught me valuable lessons about the ups and downs of demolished organs. She came to us on borrowed time. I did everything by the conventional book and we got a few extra months with her. I swore I’d never do subcutaneous fluids again. Mia’s Diary.
Our precious Momma Mia.
Two more minpins, mother and daughter, would also be lost to failing kidneys. With both of them, I used a different approach. I did not follow the rules. They ate whatever they wanted. The “rule” is low protein and bland. I let them be. With Katie (mother) I boosted her a few times over a year and a half with some fluid therapy. It was the same with her daughter, Kaley. Both made it to sixteen and we didn’t have their last days fighting over needles. The end came quickly with both but it was a good and peaceful end to full lives. I had not been able to give that to Mia since she came to us already dying. We just didn’t have enough time to make up for her crappy life before us.
Always happy Katie (left) w/her man Ramirez.
The clown Kaley.
It’d been a couple years since I’d had to think about kidneys but then along came Setzer. The week I brought him home he was hospitalized… having crashed from failing kidneys. NOOOOOO!!!!!!!!! Alas! He was not some pansy little cat to be outdone by a couple of bean shaped things in his body. He came back from that crash with renewed vigor and appetite. He actually doubled his weight! Not an easy feat since one of the things that happens is loss of appetite due to nausea. I was determined to let him decide our course of action.
I’m trying to clean his litter box!
We’re just a few months shy of Setz being part of us for a full two years. In that time he became my shoulder cat, my napping buddy, my constant reminder I wasn’t doing something fast enough and a tremendous source of comfort. He crashed a few more times. He surprised all of us by coming back from those crashes. I did do something I swore I’d never do. We began fluid therapy after the last major crash. He didn’t protest. I fussed about it a lot more than he did.
The needle.
The life extending fluid. (Lactated ringers)
Tuna helped.
He gave us an extra 5 weeks to spend basking in his glory. But, as is the story with failing kidneys, they began making him feel like the worst kind of crap. Everyone could feel it. Kobay, was showing concern for him often. He wasn’t wanting attention from anyone, though, not even her.
Trying her best to snuggle with him.
Failing kidneys have a distinct smell that is unmistakable.
She did her best, they had bonded the moment he came into the house.
On June 1st we let him go. His body was simply done. Our hearts were broken but so thankful to have had this special cat find us. My shoulder feels cold and empty without him there. He has given me so much more than I was able to give him. I suppose I can no longer say – I’m not a cat person! There will never be another to come close to my Setzer-boy.
His cremains.
I held him as our vet gave him his peaceful sleep. Eva Cassidy, sang him to the Bridge.
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