This post is the 1000th entry on Y Ceffyl Du. It’s only taken seven years to get here. I’ve blogged the tales and tribulations of four cats, five horses, and major events in my life. Here’s to Isis, Basette, Stella, and Ambush, who have passed and are missed. Their antics and memories are chronicled here. Here’s to Rajiyyah, Logan, Kasane, and Prize, two still in my life and two with other people who...
Continue reading...Stella
Seven years later…
The first blog post on Ceffyl.net was on April 11, 2004. At that time, I had two horses (Isis and Logan) and four cats (Basette, Ambush, Stella, and Kiesha). Seven years later, I have only one kitty and three horses. I started this blog as an outlet for dealing with the medical issues my cats and horse had. Basette, my sweet little black cat, was a diabetic who never responded to insulin treatment....
Continue reading...Stella’s ashes
I got to work this morning determined to make it through the day. It’s taken a lot of effort to get anything done since Stella passed last Wednesday. My focus has been off, to say the least. I did manage to get some work done last night, into the wee hours of the morning. Better than I had been able to do for the week prior. I was doing pretty well until the...
Continue reading...Riding the roller coaster with Stella
In the past two weeks, Stella’s weight has gone up, gone down, gone up, gone down. Today she was back up to 3 pounds 15 ounces. Stella has been getting her anti-phosphorus medicine and potassium supplement every twelve hours. Every morning and evening around 8:00, Stella gets her medicine. She knows what time it is and moves away from away from me when she seems I’m carrying a towel. I pick her up...
Continue reading...Stella update from vet visit
Stella had her second visit to the vet this week for fluids. She lost 2 ounces, back down to 3 pounds 12 ounces (she was 3 pounds 14 ounces). She seems to be feeling a little better. She’s been more playful over the past day or so. The vet gave me two cans of prescription kidney disease diet food for Stella. I’ve been feeding the wet food (or rather leaving some in a...
Continue reading...Riding the roller coaster with Stella
Over the past week and a half, Stella’s weight was in a state of slow decline. She lost about 8 ounces, taking her weight from 4 pounds 3 ounces down to 13 pounds 10 ounces. I watched her losing weight and felt like there was nothing I could do. Her appetite was half of what it was a few weeks ago and she has been sleeping a lot. For quite a while, she...
Continue reading...Stella lost weight
Stella is now the smallest she has ever been: 3 pounds, 13.5 ounces. This Friday we’re going to recheck her phosphorous levels and make sure her meds are at the right dose. Poor little kitten. She is in good spirits and she has been playful. She seems okay, she just didn’t want to eat much for the past few days. Sigh. Related Images:
Continue reading...Other critter updates
It’s been a little while since I posted about Stella and Kiesha. Stella has been on meds to control high phosphourous levels in her blood. It’s made a huge difference: Stella is eating! After months and years of trying to get her to eat while her wait continuously dropped, she’s on the upswing. She has been regularly gaining a little or maintaining. She is feeling so much better. Kiesha has been responding well...
Continue reading...Post vet visit with Stella
Boy, what a day. Stella is feeling so much better tonight.She’s been playing on my desk and keeping me company. She also ate some wet food and dry food after we got home. I don’t know what it was about last night and this morning, but she is feeling worlds better. She also gained 2.5 ounces! That’s a lot for a little kitty who has been constantly losing and not gaining. Yay! Some...
Continue reading...Mild panic, resolved
I got home last night and went to the bedroom to check on Stella. She was curled up where my pillow is. I lifted the end of her tail and let it fall back to the bed it. She didn’t wake up. Pushed on the mattress next to her and she didn’t wake up. Mild panic ensued. In the dim light, I could barely see her rib cage rising and falling with her...
Continue reading...Did I mention Stella is eating?
Stella is eating food again. None of the wet food I’ve been giving her, but she is eating new dry food. Her flavor of the week is Solid Gold Kats N Flocken cat food. The pet store manager I spoke to swore up and down that she would eat the food or else I could bring the unused part of the bag back for a refund. Okay, so we’ll see what happens. I...
Continue reading...Stella: Little kitty is smaller
Stella had her regular appointment for fluids this morning. She is still down 4 ounces from three weeks ago. She now weighs 4 pounds, 4 ounces. I don’t know if there is anything I can do to help keep weight on her. She’s lost a lot of muscle in her hips. It’s hard for her to coordinate things. She still jumps on my shoulder while I’m sitting, so some things are still normal....
Continue reading...Older kitties: joys and pains
Stella’s eyes are changing. Today her eyes are not very responsive to the light. When she opens them, the pupils stay wide and are slow to adjust to the light. The vet warned me on Friday that Stella might end up with detached retinas from the hypertension (high blood pressure). Basette ended up with detached retinas as a side effect of her diabetes. The night she lost her vision, she wandered in to...
Continue reading...Happy birthday to Stella, and a vet visit
Stella is 21 this month. She is the oldest cat I’ve ever had. She has been very healthy and spry for the most part. Since the move to the new apartment, she has been losing weight and not looking as good. She is looking more her age instead of being so kittenish. (She did play with her tail last week in the bathtub. First time she had done that in a while and...
Continue reading...Funny kitty behavior
It’s only been a few days since Ambush past and the kitties seem to be adjusting. Kiesha periodically walks around the house yowling. When she’s called, she meows lightly and trots in for pettings. Stella has also yowled a little, but, being mostly deaf, she doesn’t hear it when I call her. Instead I find her, and she does her little “purr-ip” and trots up to me. After Saturday, the kitties started doing...
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