Normal ultrasound

I had my ultrasound today and it was normal. Everything looked fine. This doesn't rule out inflammatory bowel disease, but it makes it less likely. So, I am very confused. My human is relieved that nothing horrific was found, but now we don't know what to do next :(

I'm still skinny and seem weak, but I am very affectionate and don't seem to be suffering. My human needs to talk directly to the vet tomorrow.

My tummy has been shaved. That was so annoying! And, they put cold goo on it and pressed on it with a plastic thing. But, otherwise the ultrasound visit went well. I was very well behaved there, and barely squirmed.

Thank you

Thank so much you everyone who posted a rosette or sent us good wishes. We will respond individually soon.

Since yesterday, I've been subtly worse, enough so that my human moved up my ultrasound appointment to tomorrow. It was supposed to be next Tuesday.

My human is a bit of a hypochondriac, so she is feeling pretty worried about me. What happened is that I had more diarrhea than normal (my poop had been kind of solid up to yesterday) and I threw up neon yellow bile, and I peed on the couch where my human has been sleeping. Those three things together made my human freak out even more than usual.

Thank you everyone for the support. We hope to have more info and be calmer soon.

Even my issues have issues

I've been getting sicker lately. My human had noticed my weight decreasing, and a couple weeks ago, she took me to the vet and I only weighed 7.9 lbs. A month before that I weighed 9 lbs. Six months ago I weighed 11. The vet examined me and said that my stomach felt thickened. I've also been kind of listless lately.

I had blood work done. My thyroid is fine, but I had 3 other abnormalities that are consistent with inflammation. So, it seems that my digestive track is inflamed. The vets put me on metronidazole because I may have irritable bowel syndrome. I am going to have an ultrasound in 1 week. After that, I may have endoscopy to get a stomach biopsy.

I tried Natural Balance Green Pea and Duck food for a while, but it didn't work for me. I may be allergic to fowl. I'm back on Royal Canin Green Pea and Venison. This is the only food I've found that works for me. Unfortunately, it's extraordinarily expensive.

My peeing and pooping outside the litterbox has escalated lately. This may be related to my current physical ailments. My human has completely given up sleeping on her bed because I always pee on it. She sleeps on the couch now.

The silver lining is that I am easy to pill. I take 2 pills per day, and I am a little cranky about it, but I don't squirm too much. My human has also added wet Green Pea and Venison to my diet, and I've gained 0.3 lbs in about a week, which is promising.

I have issues, but I don't seem terribly unhappy. I still like cuddling with my human and eating my wet food.

L'Oreal Kitty

As noted in my last entry, I tend to bring a bit of cat drama to our household. I am also a sweet, gentle fluffy creature who adores my human (and most other humans.) So, here is the balance of Jessamine:

Five Reason's I'm a Difficult Cat.

1. I sometimes pee on things. I've been to the vet and had tests. We have 3 litter boxes and my human keeps them ridiculously clean. Still, I sometimes just have to do it. Luckily, my problem seems intermittent and somewhat manageable.

2. I am fluffy. I require brushing and I periodically have to get my butt shaved to keep the poop from sticking. Also, I shed a lot.

3. I am allergic to fish and possibly other cat food ingredients. So, I tend to puke a lot and have diarrhea. Finding the right food for me is an expensive and complicated endeavor, especially considering that my sister Teagan can be a bit finicky.

4. I'm expensive. Since moving in with my human, I've had to have dental work to get a chipped tooth removed, I've had a treatment for worms, I've had a spot on my neck biopsied, I've been to the vet over my food allergies, and I've gone because of my behavioral problems (see item 1.) In other words, my human is putting my veterinarians' kids through college.

5. I can be smelly (see #2 and #3.) I try to keep clean, but it is a big job.


Five Reason's I'm Worth It.

1. I am the sweetest, most affectionate creature in the world. I love to be near my human. I love to lay on top of guests and have them scratch my cheeks. I become so excited and happy when I am petted that I sort of tremble with it.

2. I have the softest fur in the universe. Seriously, I'm made of pure silk or something.

3. I catch mice. My human never has to worry about having mouse problems because I am a killing machine.

4. Like many fluffy cats, I look especially ridiculous chasing and fighting with toys. It is very cute.

5. I am appreciative. I know that my human cares for me, and I reward her with my trust and love, as well as occasional dead mice. I tend to drift about the apartment with her, flopping around in the bedroom if she's there, or hanging out in the living room if that's where she goes. I let my human know I think that she's swell.


So, there. My human loves me and she's keeping me. Because I'm worth it.

I have been bad

So, I've written about this before. I have had a problem peeing on furniture in the past. I didn't do it for nearly a year, but I have relapsed.

Last night, my human came home from working about 12 hours and was really tired. This might have been part of the problem, because we cats were really, really hungry by the time she got home. So, she fed us, and then later, when she went to go to bed, she found that I had peed AND pooped in her bed.

So, she had to strip the bed. She also used up the last of her Nature's Miracle on the mattress.

My human slept on the couch and she woke up all itchy (this part isn't my fault.) She fed us wet food, which we hardly ever get. That was very exciting. I was good then -- I scarfed mine down in seconds flat, and then waited patiently until Teagan was done to clean her plate.

So, then my human made two unpleasant discoveries. She looked into the mirror and realized that she was covered in hives. Her face and neck were all red. So, that explains the itching. She seems to have reacted to some fruity trail mix. She might be allergic to mangoes, or nuts, or chocolate. I have allergies, too! We have so much in common.

Then, my human realized that sometime last night or this morning, I had peed on the bed AGAIN. Right on the bare mattress. I'd never done that before, ever. In the past, I only peed on the bed when she was in it, and only on the sheets. My MO has changed.

My human covered the mattress with shower curtains.She also had to go to the laundromat and to stores today. She bought a waterproof mattress cover, more Nature's Miracle, Allavert, and more wet cat food.

Last night, she also ordered some Natural Balance green pea and duck cat food (they don't actually sell it in my town.) My human thinks I've started to react badly to my chicken and rice allergy food. Maybe that is part of my problem, or maybe not.

In summary, I have been very bad. I am probably going to wind up going to the vet again.

Tagged

I have been tagged by Kittanna. I am supposed to answer some questions and tag 4 more friends. Fun!

Here goes:

4 jobs that I have:
1. Putting my human to bed by lying on her arm and purring at night
2. Enforcing mealtimes
3. Neighborhood watch (I like looking out the window)
4. Ensuring that the furniture is always covered with cat hair

4 places I have lived or stayed:
1. Tompkins county SPCA (shelter)
2. My human's apartment
3. Unknown
4. Unknown

4 places I'd rather be:
1. In bed with my human
2. With my face in the food dish
3. At the top of the cat tree
4. Lying on the couch

I will tag:
Liberty
Rocky Ann
Thumbellina
Elora Danan

Biopsy

I got a bump on my neck, my human took me for a biopsy, and the tumor wound up being benign, so I'm OK.

My human found a bump on my neck 2 weeks ago and took me to the vet. They said that because it was a growth (~3mm across) on top of the skin, it was probably nothing to worry about, but they wanted to biopsy it anyway. So, I was sedated and they cut it off. A week and a half later, the lab results came back, and the tumor turned out to be benign.

The whole experience was traumatic for me, but I survived. I had to make two (!!) trips to the vet in the car, which I hate. I also was poked and prodded and given a shot. I came home from the vet with the back of my neck and head shaved, so I look really silly.

The worst thing was that I came home from the vet really woozy from the drugs and my sister Teagan was really mean to me. Whenever I go away for even a couple hours, Teagan seems to forget me. When I come back, she hisses and growls at me like I'm some strange cat she's never met. This time, I was so drugged up that when Teagan came at me, I just fell over. My human tried to keep Teagan away from me, but as soon as her back was turned, Teagan would attack. I was pretty freaked out from the drugs, so this wasn't fun.

Eventually the drugs wore off and I was able to walk, run and jump again. It took Teagan a couple days to accept my presence in the house. So, things are mostly back to normal, except the fur on my neck is still very short.

Spring stinks.

You know how I went on about how great spring is in my last entry? I take it back. Spring is horrible because it brings thunderstorms.

Thunder is one of the two scariest things in the world (the other is the doorbell.) When I hear thunder, I run under the bed and don't come out until it's gone.

I hate it. It's terrible. I wish it would stop.

Spring!

It's finally spring in Ithaca. It just happened this week. So, my human has been starting to tear the plastic and caulk off our windows to let some air in. This is so exciting! I can smell and hear things! And, there are bugs that come in! Soon, there will be lots of squirrels and birds in the trees.

My sister and I have been pushing our noses against the screens and just sniffing and staring. It's great!

My mean human

My human says that I have a fish allergy. I don't see how this can be possible, since fish is the yummiest stuff ever. So, now I have to eat this sort of bland food and I don't get tuna as a treat.

My sister, Teagan the prima donna, is refusing to touch the allergy food, so my human has been trying to give her some other food. But, I am not a fool -- if there's other food to be had, I am going to have some. I'm wise to my human's sneaky bait and switch techniques.

My human has come up with the meanest, most underhanded trick ever, though. She has been feeding Teagan in the bathroom, with the door closed and me locked out! I know what's going on, so I stand outside meowing and hitting the door while Teagan eats.

This sucks. I want yummy fish flavored food, too! Why is my human being so cruel?