Sad times

On Monday, my good friend and fellow Aussiecat Gypsy had to he helped to the Bridge. We can be thankful that he lived a great life with his mum Karen and his sister Tasha, but it's always so hard to say goodbye to friends. Gypsy and Tasha were my first Secret Paws buddies... our mums have even had dinner together in Melbourne!

If you haven't done so already, please go visit Gypsy and Tasha's blog and leave some kind words, hugs and purrs.

Gypsy, mate, we will miss you.

Cheers,
--Pabs

Kate ain't no Annie Leibovitz...

Kate likes this picture of me, even though it was an outtake. I'm not sure why she likes it. You can see the bit of fur that they shaved off my front leg when I had my IV fluids a few weeks ago. It's growing back... slowly.

Lots of you have asked how I'm feeling. Thanks so much for caring! I'm kind of ok, but I'm still not eating enough.I have appetite stimulants that I can take every 3-4 days, but we've noticed that about a day after I take a tablet (and I'm only taking 1/8 of one tablet), I have a vom. We don't know if it's the tablet that makes me sick, or the fact that I have more food in my tummy that makes me sick. So, once again, Kate's 'keeping an eye on me' and will take me back to the v-e-t if need be.

But I am getting out and enjoying the summer sun in my garden. And snuggling with Kate in bed at night. So life's pretty good.

Kate likes this picture too. I can't for the life of me work out why.

Cheers,
--Pabs

That's more like it!

After days of wet, dismal weather, and floods across the country, it's been great to get a few gloriously sunny and warm days down here at the bottom of the world. (That's the view from my backyard.)

Aaah. Dappled shade on a warm day. It doesn't get better than this!

Cheers,
--Pabs

Sending our thoughts north

While I'm resting in the l-o-n-g grass in our backyard, I'm thinking about the people and animals of Queensland. Three-quarters of the state, in north-eastern Australia, has been declared a disaster zone due to devastating floods. Many people, and no doubt animals, have lost their homes, and even their lives. It's a sad time.

I'm still doing ok, although I had a bit of a vom at 3.30am a few mornings ago. Nick gave me another dose of appetite stimulant today, to make sure that I continue to eat my renal diet. Here's hoping it continues to work! Thanks again for your good wishes, purrs and thoughts.

Cheers,
--Pabs

Pablo's progress

Hi everycat,

No photo today, sorry, but I thought I'd let you all know that I came home yesterday afternoon. It's so great to be home, hanging out in the yard in all my favourite hiding spots.

I can't believe how many lovely comments I've had from my blogging buddies, old and new. Thanks so much for all your support.

The IV flushout went well; I came home feeling pretty good. And the renal diet food is pretty tasty... although I'm not sure how much I'll like it when Kate stops giving me the appetite stimulants.

So now we've just gotta wait and see if the renal diet is enough to save my kidneys. And hope, hope, hope that going off my urinary health diet doesn't mean that I get another blockage.

Oh, boy...

Cheers,
--Pabs

In treatment

Well, guess where I am.

Yep. In THERE.

They took some bloods from me the other day to do a 'wellness profile', and they detected a high level of toxicity in my kidneys. So I'm in overnight you-know-where having my kidneys flushed out with IV fluids.

The v-e-t is switching me to a kidney-friendly diet, so I can't be on my urinary diet anymore. Apparently we have to take a chance with that, because if I don't switch to a kidney diet, I might not make it.

One day, I'll get to blog about something other than my health.

One day...

Cheers,
--Pabs

Cat. Mat.

Call me a traditionalist...

Long time no blog, everycat! Sorry.

Things have been pretty good around here. Even though it hasn't been a very warm summer (yet), I've been spending most of my time in the garden, in my usual sweet hiding spots. Christmas was great... Nick, Kate and Alex went away to visit their family and left me with Fiona, who is an AWESOME house-sitter because she lets me sleep on her bed WHENEVER I WANT.

Healthwise, I'm still not 100%. I'm not eating heaps, and I'm pretty skinny. I think I'm in for a checkup you-know-where this week. Uh-oh.

I really hope that everyone's had a great Christmas holiday. Here's to an awesome 2011 for all of us!

Cheers,
--Pabs