Happy Hour at Chez Animal Hair Can I get you a drink?

She is really hanging in there. Thing is, she’s much better. She’s acting like she used to. But let me back up a little.

On Tuesday evening I got the results back from the renal test. The vet told me that she was amazed at how well Misha was doing seeing as her results were so serious. She said she’s seen cats with better levels than Misha’s who are acting like they feel like shit (her words!). So she’s very amazed at how well Misha is doing.

So we decided that she’s not ready to go yet and that I should just keep an eye on her and keep giving her fluids and the potassium gel and sort of wait and see.

Yesterday I went to the vet to pick up a new fluid refill because ours was empty (the valve was left open and it all went down the sink). There was a different vet there and she was very friendly and seemed to take an interest in what the techs and I were talking about. I was telling them how well Misha is doing. One of the techs came in and mentioned that the results were in and I told her I’d already spoken to the vet about it. I left and about an hour later got a voicemail from the new vet saying she wanted me to call her back because she wanted to talk about Misha.

I called her back and she asked how Misha was acting. I told her and she said that after the lab faxed over the results, another pathologist at the lab had taken a look at them and found something else. She said that they believed that Misha was leaking fluids somewhere inside her body. I wasn’t sure, but it sounded like maybe they think that it might not be her kidneys and it could be this problem instead.

So we’re taking Misha in tomorrow morning for a series of X-rays and we’re hoping that they’ll be able to see where the leak is. If they can’t, then we’ll have to do an ultrasound. If they do find a leak, I guess they’ll have to repair it. So this could end up being really costly, but if it’s going to give her 5 more years, then it’s worth it. If it will only buy her 5 weeks, it’s not. We’ll see. I want to do what is most comfortable for her too.

We gave her the fluids last night and she took them just fine. My Old Lady is quite a trooper. Up til now she’s just been sitting in her bed, but last night she came upstairs and slept on one of the dog beds.

UPDATE: 10/28/2005: Misha is acting like a kitten again. She’s not only back to normal, she’s better. However, she still has kidney failure. So no one knows why she’s acting like this, but apparently is not ready to cross the Rainbow Bridge yet. I’ll take however long I can get!

Posted under pets

Since the news is starting to trickle out regarding my old lady kitty, Misha, I thought I’d update everyone here.

On Friday I brought her into the vet because she had not eaten in two days and when I got up Friday morning she was sleeping in the same spot I’d put her on Thursday evening at about 7pm. Now, she’s old (18) so she doesn’t move around too much anyway, but that is odd for even her.

Well, they looked at her gums and said she was probably anemic. Then they looked at her urine and it was almost like water (no yellow) so the vet was pretty sure it was her kidneys. But wanted to take some blood and double check. They did and all signs pointed to her having kidney failure. Her blood was so full of toxins (waste) that it was poisoning her.

So we talked about what we can do. The idea was the she was suppose to have an IV of fluids and potassium along with some nutrition since she had not eaten. But it sounded to me like the only reason for doing this was to make her more comfortable since she was clearly not. But it was Friday and the vet isn’t open on the weekends so they couldn’t keep her on a continuous drip.

So we tried to just give her some fluids and potassium subcutaneously (under her skin). The potassium hurt her too much (god, that was hard to watch) so we had to go with straight liquids. So they did that, while I went home and imagined what life would be like without this cat who has been literally by my side for 18 years.

We picked Misha up at the vet Friday night just before they closed and she had actually perked up quite a bit. They showed me how to give her the “IV” and I was supposed to give it to her every once in awhile throughout the weekend.

Seems it’s possible that she just was badly dehydrated. That can also fill her blood with waste. She was drinking but not peeing.

Saturday we just spent a lot of time with her and tried to make her as comfy as possible. I set her up in the (warm) blue bathroom in a box with a towel in it, her water and food close by and with the litter box. We did give her the “IV” thing once and as soon as we pulled the needle out, she took off (this from a cat that couldn’t walk 8 hours previous) and ran down the hall and JUMPED up on the bed! If you’ve seen our bed you know how tall it is. So we took that as a good sign.

Last night we went out for drinks and some dinner for only about 2 hours. When we got home I went to check on her and saw that she’d peed, which is very good. So we’re just keeping an eye on her, feeding her lots of the fattening food and hoping for the best. I guess we’ll have to IV her again today but I don’t want to. It’s so hard to know if you’ve got it in the right spot and if it’s getting into her. She doesn’t seem to mind it too much so that helps.

She’s not all better, she’s still really wobbly and weak, but she’s much better. On Friday she couldn’t even hold her head up. Now she’s jumping on the bed. Crazy old lady. So it seems she’s not quite ready to go yet either.

So we bring in her in again tomorrow and they check her blood again and that will tell us if she really does have kidney failure or if she was just badly dehydrated. Obviously I am hoping that she will recover, but I am also realistic and know that if this isn’t “it”, then “It” will not be far off. She’s like 120 years old after all. She’s a had a long full life, it’s just that 18 years is a long time to know a pet and it’s hard to say goodbye even though it might be time. That photo was taken just moments ago so that’s how she looks right now. A BIG improvement over Friday.

So send some good thoughts, zen, prayers, whatever you got to my little Mishy-Mo…

I’ll keep you updated.

UPDATE: She just ate a bunch of food (she also peed) and when I went in to see her she did that loud “Hello!” kind of meow that she does. So I’m thinking she may be back to normal. I will still take her in tomorrow and have them check her blood. She might be OK!

UPDATE 10/24/2005: OK seems I was a bit overly optimistic. She DOES indeed have kidney failure. That is for certain (apparently). But she can live a semi normal next few weeks, months years (?) if I keep giving her the fluids and other meds along with special food. I guess we just have to figure out if that’s what she’d want. I wish she could talk! I mean other than that Sqiggy-sounding “Hello!” I brought her in this AM and they took some blood and are going to run some kind of renal test. I’ll get the results tomorrow.

Posted under pets

Who, You ask? Someone we know? No, of course not. I never gossip about people I know. I don’t! OK I do. But so do you.

But no, I’m speaking of Katie Couric and Matt Lauer.

I watch them many mornings on the Today Show and I have a special fondness for both of them. When Katie’s husband died it was very sad and I hoped she’d find some nice guy someday. I started thinking she should date her co-anchor, Matt Lauer. But then he got married and I figured he probably would not have done that had he been interested in Little Miss Sunshine.

Well, a few months ago, it was announce that he was divorcing his wife. Perfect, I thought. Now Katie can move in!

I really just thought this as a little fun thought experiment. But here’s what I’ve seen the last few days.

Yesterday (I think it was) they had as a guest, an expert on relationships. The topic was “opposites attract, myth or truth� or something like that.

While they were doing the little teaser, you know, “After the break we’ll be talking with [insert guest name] who will tell us if opposites really attract…� that kind of thing. When Katie said, “We’re pretty opposite.�

“Yes, we are� says Matt “Katie is pretty, um…� then Katie broke in and said “Matt is neater than I am, I’m kind of messy.� I’m paraphrasing, but this is very similar to what took place. I thought, ‘oh cute, they’re maybe talking about their working relationship, but maybe not.

Then Katie said, “Oh we’re getting kind of personal here!� and I thought BUSTED!!

Then today on this morning’s show they were talking about an upcoming segment, which was about men having “crushes� on each other and how it’s healthy, etc. Katie asked Matt if he had a “Boy Crush� on anyone. He said no, then asked if she had a “Girl Crush� on anyone (they had covered that topic a few weeks ago). She said, “No, I don’t, really. We’re a boring couple!�

HA! You can’t deny it!!

Let me just say, I called the Jennifer Garner/Ben Affleck thing long before they even knew it. It was after they did “Daredevil� together. I saw them on “Dinner for Five� and they were both dating someone else (she that hottie from “Alias� and he that Jennifer something or other). They just seemed so cute with each other and I could tell she was crushing on him big time. So I’m glad he finally wised up and got with the right Jennifer.

Anyway, so you watch the Today show and tell me what you see. I swear they’re a couple.

Posted under celebrity news/gossip

My last birthday present which I opened last night, was a WebCam! Now we can keep an eye on the house and see who is pooping on the floor.
We can also webcast our house concerts, which would be cool.
So thanks Greg, for helping ease me into my middle years. This was a great birthday!

Dinner at Stella’s was not the highlight, however. Some of it was great, and some of it was below Perkins-style. For $100 for two poeple (no drinks, or dessert either) it was not nearly as good as it should have been.

My fish was excellent (halibut, char grilled) and hot as was Greg’s lobster. But the mashed potatoes, cole slaw, and all the sauces were room temperature and had a film on them like you see in the deli on that nasty yellow potato salad.

Everything had good flavor, but it was as if the side dishes and sauces were prepared yesterday and had been sitting on a counter until we ordered them. Not what I expect from an expensive restaurant.

Also, I don’t know if you saw it when it was Tonic, but it was beautiful. Really lush and rich looking. Big comfy overstuffed booths, nice lighting, etc. They removed all that and the booths are hard wood iwth a cushion on them. The tables are formica (or something like that), paper placemats (very funny stuff on them, however) and the glasses that come on the table are those big tall red plastic ones you see at low-end pizza parlors. When I saw that I thought, oh, they really scaled down. And I thought the prices would follow. But then I opened the menu and saw that a lobster salad sandwich with fries was $18.95.

I will say again, however that my fish was very tasty (not the “hollandaise” sauce that came with it) and the mashed potatoes were yummy, I just wish they’d been hot.

I would go back for happy hour or maybe lunch if I’m feeling rich (that will probably never happen). But for a nice seafood dinner, go to Oceanaire (owned by the same folks, strangely enough) it’s only a little more expensive and much higher quality.

Posted under Cooking

Cellular (2004)
Directed by
David R. Ellis
Starring: Kim Basinger, Chris Evans, William H. Macy (poor man, he’s way better than this crap)

Amy’s review: OK so I’ve already told you the movie was dreadful. Now I’ll tell you why.

Here’s the set up: A woman gets kidnapped. We don’t know why at first. I thought it was just that she was rich, but she said she wasn’t. I guess non-rich people live in humongous, luxurious homes in Brentwood, CA and have housekeepers and Porsche (or was it Mercedes?) SUVs. *shrug* who knew?

Anyway, she gets kidnapped by some men who crash through her glass kitchen door and kill her housekeeper. There have got to be better ways to kidnap someone without causing such a ruckus. Honestly people.

So they throw her in an attic-type room. There is a phone on the wall. After they throw her in there, one of them men comes back in with a baseball bat and smashes the phone. I have a problem with this plot point (only one? you say):

· If you are holding someone hostage and you don’t want them to use the phone, REMOVE it! Don’t just smash it. She is a science teacher after all; it didn’t dawn on you that she could have rigged it so it worked? Do your research.

Obviously, in order for the premise to work, she had to have access to at least part of a phone so that she could call the Cute Boy™ on his cell phone and request his help (more on him later). So they could have just had a phone maybe packed in a box somewhere that she discovered. At least I’d be willing to believe that the bad guys would have forgotten it was there.

But if she had not been in a smashed up phone then once she got a hold of Cute Boyâ„¢ she could have gotten his number and called him back instead of us being worried that the call will drop. So already this is contrived and stupid.

It just gets worse. There were so many “why didn’t he just…?�? moments that it got to be almost funny. Except that it was taking away time from my real life.

I will say that the actors did a good job with a suck-ass story and screenplay, but as Greg said, “Nothing could have saved this movie.�?

…but that boy was really cute.

Click Comments for Greg’s review

Posted under Movie Reviews, Mystery/Suspense

Well, for my birthday, I got my wish…I got a piano. This means that when I do house concerts the artists can choose to play a real piano if they like instead of using an electronic keyboard.

It’s a little scruffy but sounds glorious.

Now I need a name for her (are pianos “she”s?). I like Scruffy, but it’s not always gonna look like that. Any ideas?

So I spent most of the weekend either recovering from, or creating a hangover. It’s not that we partied too much, it’s just that it takes me longer to recover nowadays.

Thursday we went to Happy hour with Sue and Corey. Good to see them, it had been too long.
Friday we did nothing except watch a horrendous movie (“Cellular”, review forthcoming).
Saturday we got the piano.
Sunday we had a little family gathering. It was nice. I got to see Alicia and Keith and their kids whom I have not seen in over two years. I had never even met her baby, Alba. That child is a trip! She is hilarious. She’s gonna be trouble. In a good way, of course.

Then Jody came over last night after the family left and gave me a nice present of some good smelling bath stuff with a card wishing me a “Happy 100th Birthday!” She’s funny, huh? Smart ass. I got to open one more present from Greg. It was a Skagen watch. Very nice.

So we had a few drinks and when I woke up at 4am I was so dehydrated that my eyes wouldn’t open all the way. I’m fine now.

My co-worker Judy (who had the day off) came in with a big bouquet of black balloons that say “Over the Hill” on them. But she also gave me a funny card and a copy of “Be Cool” on DVD.

My supervisor gave me TWO fancy chocolate bars. One has chilies in it! It’s really good. The other one is dark chocolate. I haven’t tried it yet, but it’s Belgian dark chocolate so I know it’s good.

So it’s been a pretty good birthday, considering I’m now officially middle aged.

Tonight Greg and I are going to dinner at a new place. I will report about that tomorrow.

~Old Lady Amy

Posted under house

How cute is that?

“Piggies swim in a pool during a piggy sports contest held in the Yaohai Park in Hefei, capital of east China’s Anhui Province, Wednesday, Oct. 5, 2005. (AP Photo/Xinhua, Liu Bingsheng)”

Greg, can we get a pet pig? George Clooney has one.

Posted under Uncategorized

You can put in an address and it will take you there, to an ariel shot of the area. Of course it doesn’t work on my house, it puts our address in the middle of the street when it’s actually on the corner. But it’s pretty close.

Another cool thing you can do is, once you’re at one location you can zoom out forever until the whole planet is just a ball. You can also zoom in from that to your house. AND (this is the really cool part) once at a location, say your house, you can “Fly to� another location. You just type in the city or address of location B and it zooms out and you “fly� across the planet to where the second location is. So yesterday I flew from my house to Terami’s.

How cool is that?

I tried to look at some parts of Louisiana but I couldn’t see much. It’s not in real time, but they do take photos every few hours. It’s a good way to kill time if you’re bored at work.

Google Earth

Posted under Uncategorized