Sunday, January 17, 2016

Minerva

You might have noticed that I haven't put up a new post since last Monday's celebration of Magic the Cat and her brother Mystic's birthday, even though I have a novella coming out Tuesday 19th and a novel February 2nd. Normally I would have been doing all sorts of promo and giveaways, as anyone who is here on a regular basis knows.

Instead, my week pretty much got swallowed up by an unexpected cat crisis.

Last Sunday, Magic and Mystic's mom, Minerva, stopped eating. If you have cats, you know this is a Bad Sign. She nibbled on breakfast, threw up a couple of times, and refused dinner altogether. At around 15 (we don't know her exact age because her previous owners dumped her at the shelter when she got pregnant, but since the kittens just turned 14, we can guess she is either 14 or 15 herself, depending on how old she was when she got knocked up), she is the oldest of my cats, and while 15 isn't elderly for an indoor cat, it ain't young either.

Minerva curled up with her kittens in happier times. She's on the right.
So Monday we went to the vet's and hung around until her vet, the lovely Doctor Baker, could see her. Blood tests and temp were fine, but an X-ray showed a severe constipation blockage. They gave her fluids and some stool softener and we went home. But the next day she still wasn't eating, so we went back and she had to have a kitty enema, fluids, and other fun stuff. (Ugh. Sorry. TMI) Plus more tests, of course. I picked her up after work and we went home again. But by Wednesday morning, she still wasn't eating or drinking, so we had to go back, and this time she was hospitalized so they could put her on an IV and give her appetite stimulants and run MORE tests. Older kitties just don't bounce back from things as well as young ones do, and her system was shutting down. It was pretty scary.

I don't feel well. Lemme alone.
 I stopped by after work on Thursday and they unhooked her from the IV so we could visit. She'd eaten a little in the morning, and then ate more for me. She also purred a lot (I'm pretty sure she was happy to see me).


By Friday afternoon, she was finally well enough to come home, with even more medicine (and a bill the size of the national debt). She spent most of the rest of the day following me around and sitting on my lap. Definitely happy to be home. Thankfully, she's been eating well ever since. Whew.


So that's what happened to MY week. I'm just happy she's home and doing okay, and I promise I'll be back to yelling about the new books as of tomorrow. (And I'm already doing it on Facebook and Twitter, at least a little bit.) I've got all sorts of fun stuff planned, so be sure to pop in and see. There are going to be giveaways here and on other blogs, and all sorts of good stuff.

In the meanwhile I'm going to do a quickie cat calendar themed giveaway to celebrate starting a new year, and throw in a copy of the new Llewellyn's Witches' Datebook (which I have some fun contributions in) just for the heck of it. Hopefully the rest of the year will be a LOT better than the last week was. Nothing but good times ahead.



To be entered, leave a comment here and I will pick a random winner Monday at midnight.

And a big thanks to all who sent their good wishes and healing energy on Facebook during this difficult time. It meant a lot to me.

44 comments:

  1. So glad to hear Minerva is doing well. I plan to continue to send her good vibes while she grows stronger.

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  2. So happy that Minerva is feeling better. It is so hard when our four legged children are sick. Continuing to send healing energies to her.

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    1. It is. I don't know how people with children do it.

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    1. Her little shaved ankles are a fashion statement. It's going to be the newest thing in cat style.

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  4. Hope Minerva heals and is with you for many more years.

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  5. I'm happy Minerva is back home. It's so tough on us when our fur babies get sick...she's lucky to have you!

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  6. I am so glad Minerva is back to being her oldself....it's so hard when our furbabies get sick...on them and us....she is such a beautiful cat...

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  7. Happy, happy, happy! Still sending light for a quick return to normalcy for you both. Katherine

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    1. Thanks, Katherine! Nice to know you're keeping an eye on us from the warmth :-)

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  8. So glad Minerva is feeling better. Sending good thoughts, and purrs from our furbabies.

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  9. I'm so happy your cat is on the mend. So scary when they are older and not well. My oldest is 16.

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    1. It does get scary when most of the tribe is older. With the "kittens" hitting 14 and baby Angus at 10, it suddenly is a senior household.

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  10. *whew* glad Minerva is on the upswing. Well wishes from the witches and cat tribe here!

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  11. Blessings to Minerva! She looks identical to my one cat that I had to put down this past year along with his brother. They both were very precious
    to me! �� I am looking forward to reading a lot of your stories as soon as I can get out again. I had both knees replaced in July and August. Then I fractured my kneecap in November! Been in a immobilizer brace for 9 weeks so far with 1-2 months left to go.
    So hopefully I can get someone to take me out to purchase some books.
    Thanks for adding me also.


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    1. I'm so sorry about your kitties. And your knees! What a rough year. I hope things get better soon.

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  12. So happy to hear Minerva is doing better, it is always hard to have a pet get sick. I have been keeping you and her in my thoughts.

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  13. Yay! I'm so happy Minerva is doing better. Good health wishes for the new year! :)

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  14. I'm glad you're kitty is feeling better! It's so scary when they get sick.

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  15. So glad that she's feeling better! My cat is 16 years old, and has an autoimmune disease that makes him allergic to the plaque on his gums, which then makes him allergic to fish, so we have to feed him either raw hamburger or chicken that has been cooked in the crock pot for hours until it's so soft that he can eat it comfortably. But he does these times where he won't eat anything, and every time, we think, "this is it, this is the end!" and then the little brat turns back around and starts eating again! I hope that Minerva keeps doing better! Sending good juju her way!

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    1. Holy crap! What a bizarre condition. Poor baby! I hope you all hang in there.

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  16. So glad Minerva's feeling better! Yeah, our remaining cat Fuzzy is 17 (18 in April). His cousin (might as well have been sister) Addie we had to let go of almost a year ago, and we watch Fuzzy closely. Doesn't help that he's diabetic and on thyroid meds. He's given us a scare more than once now when he's been so dead asleep that we were afraid he wasn't asleep. But he's still with us, a slow but happy and attention-demanding old man. <3

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    1. Hugs to you and Fuzzy. I know what you mean about the sleeping thing. Since Samhain died in her sleep last year, every once in a while one of the others scares the crap out of me by not waking up right away.

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    2. Dragondancer515, you're the winner of the giveaway here! Email me at magicmysticminerva at yahoo with your address. Congrats!

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  17. Sorry to read about Minerva. My first thought was kidney disease since my 15 yr was just diagnosed with it. Glad to read she's back home and doing better!

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    1. All her blood tests came back fine, thank the goddess. After six years of dealing with chronic renal failure with Samhain, I tend to be a bit paranoid about it. I hope your kitty responds well to treatment.

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  18. I'm so glad she's home and doing well! Give her a petting and kiss from me. Keep getting better Minerva!

    Kit

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  19. So glad to hear she is doing better! I hate when my furbabies get sick and it's really scary!

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  20. Please exclude me from the giveaway, just wanted to wish Minerva well. Glad to hear she is feeling better, what a scary ordeal!

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  21. So glad she is doing better. Years back I went on vacation and left my husband with 5 cats and a dog but came home to a very sick cat. My husband has concentrated on our oldest cat and did not realize my 13 yr. old wasn't eating. I rushed him to the vet and they thought it was his teeth so we started him on antibiotics and they made me force feed him. I'm so sorry I put him through that. He did not make it and it broke my heart (he was a feral that I bottle fed). After he passed the vet said he felt a mass but I will never know if he could have been saved. So glad your kitty got such good care!!!

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    1. What a terrible experience. I'm so sorry you had to go through that. It sounds like your poor kitty probably didn't have a chance, but you did the best you could for him, and that's all they ever ask from us. *hugs*

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  22. So glad Minerva is feeling better.

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  23. So glad Minerva is feeling better.

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  24. I'm so pleased Minerva is feeling better & is back at home with you. It's so scary when they are ill & can't tell you what is wrong with them. She is a beautiful cat & I hope she continues to do well

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  25. Glad Minerva is feeling better & back at home where she belongs, with her family! So excited about everything that's going with you & your writing. I may not comment often but I try to read through & at least "like" your posts so you know I'm tip-toeing about...LOL!

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  26. I have an older cat that we got the year got married(2003).. she is barely eating.. pretty much just sleeps most of the day.. had a few scares with her.. nothing like yours but still scary.. glad Minerva is doing way better.. * hugs* no one should have to go thru what you went thru

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  27. I have an older cat that we got the year got married(2003).. she is barely eating.. pretty much just sleeps most of the day.. had a few scares with her.. nothing like yours but still scary.. glad Minerva is doing way better.. * hugs* no one should have to go thru what you went thru

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  28. That is certainly the hardest part about letting a pet into you heart. When they are not feeling well, you really feel it. I hope she continues to do well.

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