Frasier's Mousey Toys

It's been a few weeks since my last update about Frasier. He is doing well but is now on medication (half a pill a day). He is continuing to gain weight and his test results are mostly good, except his urea and creatinine levels are still very high. So I give him half a pill every day, and in a few weeks I have to add a powder to his food. He will go back to the vet in a couple of months to see how he is doing.

The vet bills are still coming in and I've been very thankful at all the help I've received so far. This week though I finally started selling the knitted cat toys that I've been making all month. I'm calling them Frasier's Mousey Toys. They are mouse-like toys knit with wool or other yarn that I have in my stash. I made 20 to start and today at work I sold 14! 14! Can you believe it? I know more people at work want to buy some and I have friends in Halifax and in other provinces/states that want some too.

The first twenty toys

I made some with catnip and some without catnip. I will make more this week to keep up with the orders, and if you would like some please get in touch with me at eastcoastknits @ gmail dot com. Each mouse is $5, plus shipping if you are not local (I can give you an estimate with your postal/zip code). I am trying to keep the cost of these low, so though I have an Etsy store (currently closed) I am just selling them via word of mouth and to friends. People can pay through PayPal or email money transfer (the better option if you're in Canada).

This gives a good idea of how large the toys are

If you send me an email, just tell me how many you want and whether you want your toys with catnip or without catnip (also if you have an colour preferences).

Frasier cuddling with me a few weeks ago

More About Frasier

This past Tuesday I took Frasier to the vet for a follow-up appointment. I was going to take him in on Friday but they thought sooner would be best, since he had spent most of the weekend at the emergency vet. 

He is doing a lot better and has even gained some weight back. We don't know what caused his illness, since the culture that was sent to the lab came back negative. He didn't have an infection. and it's hard to say what else could have caused it. We just have to manage his kidney disease with low protein food, lots of water, and maybe some other medication or supplement if he needs it. 

Lounging on the back of the couch. Very relaxed.

I am trying to give him a lot of wet food each day. I tried three different brands of prescription kidney diet food that the emergency vet sent home with me. He didn't like the first two but seems to like the third one, so that is good. He also has the kidney diet dry food that he likes as well. It's been a bit stressful trying to make sure he gets the right food, and enough, while also making sure Louis is fed too (suddenly Louis doesn't want to eat his regular food). Thankfully I live close to the vet so I can get this special food easily. I think I'm going to need two new jobs just to pay for the food ;)

I have to take Frasier back to the vet in about two weeks to make sure his health is improving. I hope by then I will start to feel better about this. I'm worried that he is going to get sick again. For now I just have to do my best to take care of him, and look for any signs of strange behaviour.

I still have some fundraising to do to help pay for his vet bills. I have had a few donations from friends, which is awesome! I plan to put more yarn for sale up on my Ravelry stash page, and am knitting a lot of catnip toys to sell (so far I only have mice carcasses).

That is all for now. I probably won't have any more updates for a while. But really I should get back to updating about my knitting on this blog!

Frasier is Home

I was able to pick up Frasier from the emergency vet tonight, thanks to my friend Julie. The ER vet is in Dartmouth and it would have been an expensive cab ride there and back, so I was glad I found someone to help us out. I've had to rely on a lot of help from friends over the past week. I definitely want to do something special to thank them when things are back to normal. 

Frasier on the back of the couch.

The ER vet send me home with a bag of renal diet food and a few cans of wet food. I'll have to feed the cats separately from now on, which is going to be a challenge. I've always just free fed them, and Louis tends to eat a lot. I live in a small apartment, but I guess I could feed one cat in the bathroom while feeding the other cat in the kitchen area. Please feel free to pass on any advice you have about this issue, if you have it.

I will still need to followup with Frasier's regular vet. I'm not sure how much of a recovery he's going to make. Obviously I hope he lives for many years in relatively good health. I'm sure this experience has aged him somewhat.

Pay attention to me now.

Since he's been home he's been a bit restless, but he seems to be settling down. He's laying beside me on the couch right now. He was making biscuits, purring, and being his usual cute self. I can tell he's started gaining weight back. He's been drinking a lot but hasn't shown any interest in food, but maybe he's not hungry. Hopefully he likes the food the vet gave me since I have a whole bag of it. I will try to feed him again in the morning.

In case you're wondering about my other cat, Louis, he seems fine. I'm not sure if he missed Frasier being around or not, since he didn't behave differently. He's napping on the bed right now. 

*Pictures taken on my cellphone. 

Get Well Frasier

My cat Frasier is one very sick kitty. The orange tabby you see in banner on this blog, that is Frasier. On Tuesday night I noticed he was acting very strange, and he felt like he had lost weight. Picking him up was like nothing, I saw him straining to use the litter box, and he would not come out of the shower. All he would do is lay in the shower in the cat loaf position, not sleeping, not purring, not meowing. I knew something was really wrong when he didn't even mind Louis, my other cat, being near him. Normally Frasier would growl, swat, or move away if Louis got too close.

Frasier being a bit silly.

Frasier being sweet.

I took him to the vet Wednesday morning, and he is still at the vet today (well the emergency vet actually, so they can treat him all weekend). A lot has happened and I've wanted to keep people up to date so I've been posting updates to Twitter and Facebook. I am going to use this blog to post updates now so that I can just post to one place, making it easier. For now, here is what has transpired, via my posts to Facebook.

Wednesday, August 29, 9:51am:

So there's definitely something wrong with Frasier, keeping him at vet for tests and observation. It's going to cost like $400, which I don't have, plus whatever treatment. I am going back to work but I am barely keeping it together. I'm going to be unemployed in a month and I'm hungry and I missed my bus. :(

Wednesday, August 29, 7:13pm: 

Frasier kitty is convalescing in his usual spot on the back of the couch. He does look a bit better. I will drop him off again tomorrow so they can continue giving him IV fluids, and more antibiotics. Plus when the test results come back from the lab they can act on it right away. He might have a parasite from the fleas they had earlier in the year (and were treated for). 

Frasier resting after a visit to the vet on Wednesday.

Frasier resting on my scraggly bedspread on Wednesday night.

Thursday, August 30, 6:35pm:
I'd like to provide an update on Frasier but it's hard because there is so much information. He does have a lot of kidney damage but it's hard to say what's caused it. I can't really think of any toxin that he could have ingested. For now his symptoms are being treated, and once he starts feeling better the Dr will know more about his future health. Frasier is only 5 and I'm not ready to give up hope. He is my person and I love him so much.

Friday, August 31, 2:19pm:

Update: Frasier is doing better, kidney values down, appetite back, mood improved. He's not out of the woods but this is good news. Not sure when I get to take him home but he'll probably spend a few more days at the ER vet this weekend.

Friday, August 31, 5:42pm:
Update: Just got back from the vet and had a better conversation with the vet. Things are looking really good and the vet was really pleased with Frasier's progress. We still won't know how much of a recovery he'll make, but I am thrilled so far! I feel so much better and I bet Frasier does too. I didn't ask to see him; not sure if that's a normal thing that they allow. I do miss him but I think it's less stressful if I don't see him in that state.

So that is where we stand today, Saturday. He is still at the vet and I am trying to come up with ways to pay for these vet bills. At this point I don't know what the total cost will be. It's more than the original $400 I thought it would be on Wednesday. A friend has loan me some money and I am trying to sell some things that I don't really need (yarn for one thing), but it's going to be tough to pay this off. If anyone wanted to make a contribution, even just a small amount, it would be greatly appreciated. I know there are a lot of pet lovers out there who understand what this is like. It's not like I spend my money on big screen TVs, fancy vacations, clothes. I really just hang out at home with my cats, see my friends here in Halifax, go to work, knit. I live a pretty simple life but my cats mean a lot to me.

You can contact me at eastcoastknits@gmail.com about donating through PayPal or email money transfer. 

I am going to make some catnip toys this weekend to sell to friends, and there has been talk of having a bake sale too, though I don't know how to organize that. 

I will keep you posted on everything from here on out.

Ravellenic Games 2012

I have not updated this blog in more than a year. Sorry about that! I was looking at my Twitter profile, wondering if I should still have my blog listed there if I don't update it. So I decided to update it.

The Ravellenic Games 2012 are happening right now, in conjunction with the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. I have never participated before, but I decided to this time around. I have a lot of WIPs but I'm actually working on a fresh project.

Just a basic pair of socks, toe up with a gusset heel. This yarn is Lion Brand Sock-Ease, which I chose because it just happened to be close at hand (my stash is a bit disorganized right now). This project is entered into the Sock Put competition. The above photo shows where I was when I went to bed Friday night. I would have been further along but I got distracted by the opening ceremonies.

Saturday afternoon this happened.

My Knitpicks circular needle broke, and when I went to dig out my other pair, they were broken in the same way. I managed to find another pair of circular needles in the 2.25mm size so I didn't have to switch to DPNs (I tend to break wooden ones).

Today I have started the gusset for the sock and hope to get the heel turned before I go to bed. I'm not sure how much knitting I'll get in during the week since I have to work all day, but I will at least get some time in during the evening.