It's been quite some time since I last posted. Life's been crazy busy as usual, but I know I can't use that excuse forever, right?
I can't believe Christmas is knocking on our door already. This last year seems to have flown by. We've both been working two jobs each since we got married...which I have to admit has taken away some quality time for the two of us to spend together. I did find out in recent weeks, however, that I'll finally be going down to one job. West Elm announced its closing here in KC. I'm sad to see a store I really like go, but am happy to say goodbye to that extra commitment (and hello to more nights at home with Jeff). The job there has been a blessing. We've managed to furnish our house with the discount that I have there. And we're nearing the end of our project list for things to do around the house. I'll post pics soon of what we have so far. We have yet to paint and detail the dining room, as well as paint the master bath. I might get to the master bath over Christmas break...we'll see. :)
We've had a rough time as "parents" lately with Guster. He's been one sick kitty since last spring and has been really difficult to figure out and try to treat. He's been to several different vets, and as of late, a chiropractor. His back end shakes uncontrollably and non-stop. It's really hard to watch. It didn't start doing that until after he'd been diagnosed with IBD (inflammatory bowel disease) last February. Everything with him starts to blur together. I'm betting it was sometime over the summer that the shaking began. It looks as if he has Parkinson's in his hips. Poor little guy. He's the sweetest little kitty and so social with everyone. It just breaks my heart that he has to go through anything like this.
Isn't he handsome?
In the spring, we noticed he was having issues going to the bathroom and he began using our dining room as his own open-air litter box. It was and has been frustrating. I'd been coming home from work every day to clean the carpet. He's managed to ruin a big rug, some drapes, the baseboards and the carpet (we'll have to replace it/remove it much sooner than we had planned). I knew that something was out of his control and we continued to take him to vet after vet with no luck in finding a treatment that would get his intestines working properly and/or get his bathroom issues resolved. So as one last attempt at finding a solution (at least for his shaking) and to determine whether or not we should put him down to save him from suffering, we took him to get a chiropractic adjustment. Believe me, I thought it was a little crazy too, but it seemed like a better use of time and money than taking him in for tests that would put us out at least a thousand dollars and offer us no treatment. The chiropractor was very nice and helpful and actually cared enough to check back in on Gus and refer us to a vet in Lenexa that uses both traditional vet med and holistic healing. We took Guster to see her the day before Thanksgiving. She confirmed that his shaking was caused by a degenerative and progressive neurological/spinal disease. It's incurable and he'll shake for as long as he's alive. We've been told that he's not in pain from the shaking and that his main issue remained his IBD. She suggested we make a GIANT custom litter box to see if we could retrain him and get him to stop using our dining room to go to the bathroom. I knew I couldn't go everyday for what could be several more years of cleaning up cat messes...especially when we start a family in the future. Nor could we bear to see him not as himself.
Our sweet, shaky little man...
So, Jeff bought the largest Rubbermaid plastic storage container he could find and I cut a hole in it so that he could walk in at zero clearance. The idea is that he could walk in and comfortably go without being confined by the walls of a normal-sized litter box. He can only go to the bathroom standing up fully now because his hips have gotten so bad. Low and behold, it's actually working!!!! He's now (save the very few accidents he's had in the last few weeks) using it full-time and has allowed our dining room to return to its original purpose. We couldn't be happier! Although we knew there must have been a reason he wasn't using any one of his 3 litter boxes before, it was very frustrating and hard to take at times. It seems that we're finally getting him back on track. He's eating a little more with the medicine he's just been put on for his IBD, so hopefully he'll start packing on the pounds that he's lost since this all began. He's quite skinny. If we can get him stable with regard to his intestinal issues, his weight, and if he continues to use his tailor-made litter box, the only thing that won't have been resolved is his shaking. That is sad to watch, but as long as he's not in pain, we're happy to get to keep him with us a little bit longer. There have been many days these past several weeks that I was sure we'd have to put him down. I'd break down at the thought of it. We still may much sooner than a normal healthy cat, but for now he's with us. :) I only hope he's as happy as we are about that. We love our little man...
Guster's HUGE tailor-made litter box
Aside from all the goings on with Gus, we've been preparing for the holidays and spending as many cold winter nights as we can together by the fire with our babies. I'm not a fan of winter, but I love how snuggly we all get just to stay warm and cozy. I'll do my best to get some pics up of our tree and the stockings hung by the fire (with care) now that we know we'll have 4 this year as we'd hoped. I didn't want to hang Guster's only to take it down if we'd had to put him down. I'm so glad we were able to hang it.
Until next time...which I PROMISE will be soon...really... :)
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