More good news!

Smokey had a regular-sized pee overnight!!! So, he's been home for almost 2 days, and it's looking better everyday that he'll pull through!

Thanks so much for listening to all my Smokey updates. I'm sure you all understand that I've been sick with worry in the last week. He's not totally out of the woods yet, he's at risk to re-block for the next week or two, but everyday is looking more hopeful that he'll be okay.

Still doing okay...

Smokey is still the same. He's in great spirits, playful and happy. The only issue is he is urinating small to medium sized clumps more frequently instead of a few large clumps per day.

So, me being the paranoid mommy I am, phoned th vet just before lunch to give her an update. I told her everything, that he seems very happy, doesn't seem to be in any pain, eating, drinking, the only thing is he is only peeing small clumps. But, I have timed him to see how long he is in the litterbox each time, and it's on average 30 seconds, which isn't bad at all.

The vet said at this point, I shouldn't be too concerned. It would be better if he wasn't emptying his bladder so often, but I need to look at the quantity he is peeing per day, if he goes smaller amounts 8 or 10 times a day instead of large amounts 2 or 3 times per day, that's still okay. Not ideal, but no real cause for concern given what he's been through. She even said "that's encouraging". So, she obviously thinks that he is likely going to be okay.

I was nervous leaving him alone for 2 hours when I went for lunch (since when I left him alone on Monday when I went to work, that's when he took a turn for the worse), so I came bursting into the house looking for him. And he was asleep on my bed ;) Probably didn't even notice I was gone ;)

So, I am quite relieved. Every day that he hangs in there brings a little more hope. The first real test will be how he does on Monday when he is by himself. I have asked my mom to come down in the afternoon to check on him.

Daily Smokey Update

Smokey seems to be doing better today. He is back to his old self, he's been eating and drinking (I've been trying to get him to drink more, but it's difficult). He has been urinating, but like yesterday, it seems to be frequent and small amounts. Which is okay, at least he's not blocked. It just means he's still feeling some irritation and goes more frequently. At least he's not straining nearly as much as he was before, so I'm still optimistic that he'll be okay.

What a week. It's been the week from hell. I am so glad I was able to work from home today, I would be a total mess if I had to be at work. I would be constatly worrying about him. I am meeting my coworkers at a new Thai restaurant for lunch, so that will be nice to at least have a distraction for an hour.

In completely unrelated news, I think CT and I have picked outr first dance song. We didn't want something too "lovey-dovey", but we wanted something with nice lyrics, and something that was our style and we both are more into rock/alternative songs. So, we chose "When I see you smile" by Bad English. I think they are one of those 80's power ballad bands, but as soon as I heard the song, I just loved it!

Smokey is finally home!

I picked Smokey up after work, so I am SOOOOO glad to have him back!

The vet said he had 1 really good pee this afternoon, so that's great! I have to watch him really carefully for the next few days to make sure he urinates more normally. We want him to urinate large quanities a few times a day rather than a few drops or small clumps many times a day.

He's been home for an hour and a half and he's eaten, drank some water, and had a medium-sized pee. So, that is a great start. I am trying to encourage him as much as I can to drink lots of water because the more we can keep his system flushed out, the better.

I will update tomorrow with his progress, but so far, so good!!!!

Potentially good news.

I just called the vet’s office. The vet wasn’t available to talk to me, but the receptionist was able to tell me that he has been cleared for release and I can pick him up at 5:20pm today and the vet will go over everything at that time. So that’s good news! They wouldn’t send him home unless they thought he was ready.

There’s no guarantees that he won’t relapse, the first few days are critical, but I am just hoping and praying that he will pull through. I’m going to work from home tomorrow so I can be with him all day to keep an eye on him.

He's a fighter.

I just talked to the vet. She said they are going to take the catheter out this morning, and her goal is to send him home this evening. He has been on the meds for long enough now that they should be working. And he has been eating quite well which is also a good sign. That should help break up the remaining sludge that is in his urine. So, I am supposed to call back late this afternoon (like right before I leave work) just to check to see if I can pick him up tonight, but the vet wants to send him home because he may be more relaxed at home and have a better chance at urinating on his own if he is in his home environment.

If it turns out this doesn’t work, then the vet will have us come back to talk about options. The only options left would be to put him down, or to have the surgery. She said the surgery is quite successful. I asked if he would be at risk for bladder infections, and she said academically yes, but her experience has been that cats who have the surgery rarely have problems. So, it is really a cost issue. I’m not really sure exactly how much it would cost, but I think I remember her saying before that it would be between $1,000 to $1,200, which is what we’ve already spent on him in the last week. The good news is she said that for this last stint of visit, they are not going to charge me any extra for last night and today. What they quoted me on the phone on Tuesday of an extra $400-$500 will be the total cost (on top of the $700 we paid on the weekend). So, it has been an expensive ordeal, but I just don't think I could have lived with myself if we hadn't paid to have the treatment. I would have always wondered "what if".

So, I'm not going to think about the surgery yet, I'll cross that bridge if we come to it. I wouldn't want to make that kind of decision until I have had a long talk about it with the vet and have all my questions answered.

Who knows, he may be okay and not need the surgery. The next few hours are critical since he needs to be able to pee on his own. But, he's been on the medication for long enough now that it should be working. And the food he has been eating is supposed to help break up any remainaing sludge or crystals in the urine.

So that's the update for today. I won't know anything more until late this afternoon. I really hope I get to bring him home tonight! If that's the case, I'm going to try to work from home tomorrow so I can be home to watch him.

There's still a glimmer of hope...

When I talked to the vet at 5:oo, she said they they still had the catheter in. They said they wanted to keep it in until he produces clean urine, and so far, that hasn't been the case. His urine is still gritty. But, he is eating and seems to be resting confortably, so that's a good sign. So, I won't know anything more until tomorrow. So, more waiting...

For some reason, I don't know why, but I seem to have a lot more hope than I did yesterday. It's not like the vet said anything that was particularly reassuring, but I don't know, the fact that he's eating tells me that he hasn't given up yet. He's still fighting, so I'm not giving up yet.

I really hope I get good news tomorrow! And of course, I will update as soon as I know anything. This has been so hard to go through, but I don't know, something in me is telling me not to give up. So, I am going to continue praying and maybe he'll be okay!

Still no news…

I am waiting to hear back from the vet. If I don’t hear back by mid-afternoon, I am going to call them. I imagine they don’t really know too much yet. They would have taken the catheter out sometime this morning, so now it’s just a waiting game to see if he’s going to be able to pee on his own. I really hope so! It has definitely been a rough week. Thanks for all your support girls; I really appreciate it!

Edit (2:00pm)

I just talked to the vet and apparently Smokey is still not doing too well. They want to give him some more time, so they told me to call back around 5:00. I really hope they have better news then. I was praying for good news, but no good news yet.

Roller Coaster

I think the reason I am having such a hard time with this is because Smokey is only just 1 year old. I have lost pets before, but in all those cases, it was a decision we made once the pet was old and no longer comfortable or had a disease that couldn’t be cured. We knew it was coming. This time, this has been a total shock. Everything was just fine… until Friday morning. That’s when it all changed. And the worst part is, they don’t know what causes urinary tract problems. And it’s not something easily fixed.

I thought he was getting better. He was doing great on the weekend. Then Monday, he was not doing well anymore. I sure am glad I left work early yesterday. I just knew I had to check on him, and sure enough, he had to go back to the vets.

Well, I decided to spend the extra $400 on the catheterization because I think my peace of mind is worth that much. There is a chance that it could work. If it doesn’t, then at least I know I did all I could for him. So, I won’t know anything more until tomorrow afternoon. They are going to put in the catheter for 24 hours and hope the fact that he can pass urine freely with that will help him so once they take it out, he will be able to urinate without problem.

Man, my coworkers must think there’s something seriously wrong because I have been teary all day. I just know if I try to talk about it, I will be sobbing uncontrollably, so I am trying my best to keep my mind off it. That’s not working too well. At least I get to go home in a couple of hours.

I’ve barely eaten anything all day. Last night, I cried all evening and then I slept in my clothes because I cried myself to sleep and just didn’t bother getting up to change. So, I’m pretty much a total mess. This up and down and waiting totally sucks. He was fine, then not, then somewhat fine again, now not. I hope the next thing on that list will be that he’s fine again!

This sucks

Smokey is still not doing too well. When I got home last night, he was just lying on his side in the kitchen and wouldn’t move. I knew something was wrong. I tried checking his bladder to see if it was full, and he meowed loudly and went to the litterbox and didn’t do anything. He had vomited up his lunch and there was pee all over the floor (which I guess is a good sign). I’m thinking that when he is dozing and relaxes his muscles, that’s when he is able to pee. So, I called the vet and they said to bring him back in. So, I took him in right away. I was afraid that he was blocked again.

Thank goodness he wasn’t blocked, but they said there was urine in his bladder that his muscles were too tense to let him pass. So, they said they needed to do something to relax him. They gave him a shot of valium. Which of course made him totally stoned. Apparently it worked at least a little because he was able to pee after that a little better. They said they didn’t need to keep him overnight, but that it was a good idea. They gave us a reduced rate since they weren’t really going to do anything to him, just keep him for observation. I decided it would probably be best to have him stay there because then I could relax and get some sleep and not have to keep getting up to check on him.

What an ordeal. I am going to call the vet’s office around 9 or so to check his status and see how the night went. I really hope he’s okay. I don’t know how much more of this I can take. I thought he was getting better and then I get home last night to him obviously having trouble again. I really hope this valium worked and that we can bring him back home today and that he’ll be back to normal soon!

Edit (9:07am)

I just talked to the vets office and they said that Smokey didn't urinate overnight, so they are going to re-assess him now and that I should call back in an hour. They will know more then. This isn't looking good. I don't really know what to do. I have this awful feeling that they're going to say there is nothing more they can do.

Edit 11:09am

I just talked to the vet again. They have re-assessed Smokey and he doesn’t seem to be doing any better. We have a couple of options. Option 1 is to wait a little longer to see if the drugs work. She wouldn’t want to leave it overnight though because he would be in a great deal of pain as his bladder fills up if he can’t release it. Option 2 is to put in a catheter for 24-hours which would allow his urine to pass freely and this would hopefully give his muscles a chance to relax. She said this procedure does work in some cats, but not all. She said it would like be a 50/50 chance. If it doesn’t work, then there are only 2 options left, we either give him surgery to widen his urethra (which they don’t like to do because it messes with the anatomy of the cat), or put him down.

I have until mid-afternoon to decide what I want to do. The catheterization would cost likely an additional $400 (which includes the treatment he received last night). I think what I’ve decided is to go ahead with the caterization, but if it doesn’t work, then it’s time to put him down. I don’t want to have the $1,200 surgery which will mess with his anatomy because I just don’t think he’d ever be the same cat after that, not to mention I wouldn’t be able to afford it after we already will have spent over $1,000 on him in the last few days. So, I am just hoping and praying that this catheterization will work. At least if it doesn’t, then I can put him down knowing we did everything we could.

Smokey Update

We got to pick Smokey up on Saturday morning. They said the procedure went well, but they only give him a “better than 50/50 shot of being okay in the long run”. So, I was quite worried once I heard that. I thought he’d have better odds than that. We have to watch him quite closely to make sure he is able to go to the bathroom, and so far, he has been doing okay. He is still struggling a little bit, but I think that’s from the bladder infection so it makes him feel like he has to go when really his bladder is empty. Because he has been able to go, so that’s a good sign. He’s on two types of medication right now, antibiotics to clear the infection and some other drug to help his muscles relax so he doesn’t tense up so much when he tries to go pee.

What a scary ordeal. He’s not out of the woods yet, but the fact that he has been going pee is a good sign. We just have to wait it out and see with the antibiotics clearing the infection, whether he is able to go pee without struggle. I sure hope so! I hope he’ll be back to normal real soon.

Thanks for the link, burger. Right now, we’ve been feeding him the food the vet recommended, and they recommended he be on it for at least 2 months, but after that, we will definitely look into the food you recommended. I checked the “store locator” and there are 2 places in town that sell it. Thanks!

Nej came up on Saturday and we made all the wedding invitations. It was fun! They turned out really well!! We rock ;)

Poor Smokey

Turns out he has a blocked urinary tract. They don't really know what causes this sort of thing, but if we hadn't brought him in when we did, he would have been dead in 48 hours. So, CT called me as soon as he got back from the vet and we had to make a decision. Either we put him down, or we pay the $750 to have the procedure to clear the blockage. And that is the reduced price since we told the vet that we couldn't pay the original $1000 estimate. So, once CT called me, I burst into tears at my office. I composed myself enough to talk to my boss, but as soon as he asked me what was wrong, I started sobbign again. Great, I sobbed in front of my boss. He was really nice about it though, and sent me right home and said I could skip out on our meeting this afternoon if I needed to.

I cried the whole way home. I called my mom, and she just happened to be at home today, so she met CT and me at our house. We all talked about it, and we decided to pay to have the procedure done. My only hesitation was whether he would be prone to get these in the future, but the vet said the procedure has a very high success rate.

So, I am feeling much better now. It's a lot of money, but I just couldn't imagine living without him. My mom has offered to give me some money towards it, and if I put it on my credit card, then we'll have a month to save the money, so I'm sure we can save up for it by then.

What a morning. I've managed to pull myself together, so I'll still be going to my meeting.

We get to pick Smokey up tomorrow, I can't wait until we have him back. And I'm really excited to see nej again, so I'm sure the weekend will be great!

For any of you who are curious…

The meeting with the pastor last night went very well. We discussed the ceremony mostly, everything from candles, to positioning of everyone, to where the receiving line will be. I decided that I wanted the receiving line after the ceremony. Apparently, that’s not really the way most people do it, most people have the receiving line as people arrive to the reception. But, I thought that everyone was supposed to be seated at the reception and then they announce the family and wedding party and we all walk in. That’s kind of how I envisioned it in my mind. So, I’m doing it my way ;) The receiving line will be limited to just the wedding party and parents, which is still 10 people, so I think that’s enough!

We also talked about vows and the wording of the service. We want a traditional service, so the pastor had 2 examples of wording, one I liked much better, except for the actual vows, I liked the other one better. So, I think we’re going to blend the two and use most from one and the vows from the other.

It feels so good to get a lot of the ceremony stuff taken care of! I also counted the pews so I know how many “pew decorations” to make. Not really sure what I’m going to do yet, something relatively inexpensive yet still nice looking. I’m thinking some nice ribbon bows or something.

The pastor wants to meet with us twice more before the wedding, once in late May to finalize the ceremony details and then once more in late June/early July as a little marital counseling type deal. He said that last meeting was option, but I think it’s a good idea. We would also give him our marriage license at that point so he can keep track of it for the big day (we’ll have enough to worry about that day!).

So, it went really well, I was quite pleased. Carlos and I both agreed that now that we’ve discussed the ceremony details, we wish the wedding was tomorrow instead of 5.5 months away! I’m sure that time will go by quickly though, hard to believe we’ve already been engaged for 4.5 months! Wow!

I have a meeting this afternoon with the MOE and a client, so I will be very relieved when that’s over. I don’t know why, but after 3 years in this job, I still get nervous before meetings. Not nearly as nervous as I used to get, but I still don’t like them all that much.

My poor little Smokey seems to be sick today. CT is going to take him to the vet. We think there may be something wrong with his digestive system/urinary track. He keeps squatting on the floor and meows loudly whenever we go near him. And he spent a half hour in the littler box this morning and didn’t do anything. I hope the little guy is okay!!!! I’m quite worried…

Why can't my clock be fast too?!?

I have been a report-producing machine lately! Go me! It has been a very productive couple of weeks at work.

I have also recently purchased shares in the company, so I am officially a shareholder now. Very exciting. Of course, I didn’t have any extra money for this with the wedding expenses this year, so my grandmother gave me a loan (as long as I paid interest and provided her with a strict repayment schedule). I am very excited about this. We are coming up on the end of our first year as a new company, so after that, they are going to have another “valuation” done and then I’ll see whether my shares have increased in value. I’m sure they have, we’ve had a great first year.

Tonight, my grandmother is taking CT and me to Red Lobster for dinner. I am looking forward to it. I think my grandmother will be on her best behaviour if CT is there too. She is usually quite a critical woman, but I don’t think she’ll say too much in front of him. So, I think we’ll have a good time.

Tomorrow evening, CT and I are meeting with the pastor. Which I am somewhat nervous about. I just don’t want him to find out we’re living together before we’re married and refuse to perform the ceremony. I highly doubt that would happen, but I’m still worried. I guess if there were any “deal-breakers” for him, he should have asked us about it before he agreed to perform the service back in November. He told me that he wants to meet with us 3 times before the wedding. The first one is to discuss the ceremony (order of service, readings, vows, candles, etc.), and then the other two times are to discuss marriage and some situations that can cause problems in marriage and how to avoid them. So, I don’t think it will be too personal. Very different from when I was engaged the first time. My church had a different pastor back then and he made us fill out this huge questionnaire and go through pre-marital counseling (although we only made it through 2 sessions before the engagement ended). So, I guess it all depends on the pastor. I don't know this one very well since he's quite new at my church and CT and I haven't been attending much lately (we have been going to another church that we like the style of service of better).

Productive Weekend

I had a very nice weekend. It was quite productive actually. On Saturday evening, I got in a “cleaning mood”. I don’t get in those moods very often, so when I do, I make the most of it. I washed all the dishes, cleaned all the counters, cleaned the stove, and even cleaned the inside of the fridge, which was way overdue. It felt so good to get that all done! I also organized my files, updated my financial software (it had been awhile), and got all my tax stuff together so I can do my tax return sometime in the next couple of weeks.

We didn’t get as much wedding planning stuff done as we would have liked, but, oh well. I did pick up the paper I had ordered for the invitations, so I have all the supplies I need to make the invitations, yay! I also bought a tiara. I went to some of the local bridal shops with my mom a couple of weeks ago and saw a tiara that I absolutely loved. I tried on a bunch and discovered that they come in different sizes, who knew! Many of them were too big. So, when I found one I loved that fit me perfectly, I thought about it for a couple of weeks, and decided to go for it. Thought that would be better than getting one online since I wouldn’t be able to try those one. Very excited! I managed to get a veil online for $20 (with shipping and everything!), so I saved a lot of money there, so I figured I could spend a little more on the tiara. It’s sooo pretty!

So, I didn’t do much for St. Paddy’s. CT and I stayed in and relaxed. Here are a couple of pics of us relaxin!

My darling boys...

As requested, here are some pics of CT's and my little darlings.

The birthday boy, Smokey, hanging out on our bed.

Smokey playing with his favorite toy.




Smokey and Gino relaxing after a hard day of chasing each other around the house.


This week has been a very productive one. I have got almost all my reports out, only one more to go! I should be all finished them today and they will all be sent out by tomorrow!! yay!! That means no working this weekend for me! I will have the whole weekend to catch up on housework and do some more wedding stuff. Can't wait!

All work and no play.

This weekend was filled with work. I took yesterday off from work though, yet I was still out of the house from 10am – 6pm, so I didn’t get much R&R time. Sheesh. Can’t wait for March to be over! I will be somewhat less stressed come April since I won’t be on deadline anymore with all these dang reports.

I also walked 20 km on the weekend on my treadmill, so I was happy with myself for that! I did it in 3 chunks, each approx. 6.7 km long. One on Friday evening, one on Saturday morning, and one on Sunday evening. I was so tired when I got home yesterday, but I still went on the treadmill, so I was proud of myself for my determination, even though I just wanted to go to bed.

It was also Smokey’s 1st birthday on Saturday, so I made sure to sing him Happy Birthday and I gave him a couple treats. He’s such a cutie!

I really hope I don't have to work this coming weekend! I will work really hard during the week this week because who wants to work on St. Paddy's Day?!?!

I need to win the lottery.

I just found out that the place I worked at during co-op in highschool is for sale. And I really want to buy it! Too bad it’s $1.3M! It is just outside of town, in the country, has 11 acres of land including a house, barn, 2 ponds, and the business. The business is “The Pet Hotel”. It is like a luxury pet boarding place. It has 21 dog rooms and 4 cat rooms. One of the dog rooms is a “deluxe suite” with a twin size bed and a colour tv! Each dog has their own indoor room and outside kennel and then there are also 2 large areas for the dogs to run and play. The whole place is fenced in. I would absolutely love to run that type of business since I have always wanted to work with animals and this is a great place! Too bad I don’t have that kind of money! Sigh, maybe someday… I can dream, right?

As of today, my wedding is exactly 6 months away. Yay! I think I’m in good shape in terms of the planning. Everything is really coming together. Oh, Mrs. JB, I was able to find those “favor kits” in Michaels. Thanks! I just wasn’t looking in the right place before ;) I’m going to wait until I go to the workshop on April 1st before I buy any of the supplies for the favors. But, I think I’ve pretty much decided to do some candies and a bookmark. And I should be able to keep the favors to approximately $1 each, which was my goal.

Church and wedding talk.

I had a very relaxing weekend. Saturday was my “day of nothingness”. I just relaxed all day. It was great. The only downside was that CT wasn’t feeling well, so I was worried about him. He’s feeling better now, so I think it was just some strange 24-hour type of thing.

Yesterday, I went to my home church with CT, my mom, my brother Alex, and Alex’s girlfriend. I was quite sad through the entire service. This is my home church, so I have a lot of history there, but it is just not at all what I like in a church. In the last few years, my church has taken a turn and become much more traditional. In comparison, I went to a new-to-me church the week before, where it was lively and wonderful, and the pastor kept my attention the whole time. When that service as over, I was so disappointed. I could have easily stayed for another hour or two. I actually wished the service was longer. Yesterday, at my church, I as constantly looking at my watch hoping it would be over. Very boring. I was really sad because I love my church, it is just not somewhere I enjoy going anymore.

I am still glad I’ve decided to get married in my home church though, because of the history there and because both my mother and grandmother were married there. But, after the wedding, I think CT and I will go to the other church regularly. He has not been a regular church-goer at all in his life, so I really think it’s important that we choose a church where we both enjoy it and actually look forward to going. And he and I both agree that this other church is just that. We both really enjoyed it there. But, from now until the wedding, I think it’s important that we make an effort to go to my church since that’s where we will be getting married and I think it’s important to show the pastor that we are committed to attending (for now). So, maybe for the next 6 months, we’ll alternate weeks back and forth between the 2 churches or something.

Also yesterday, mom and I went to our favorite place, Michael’s craft store, and got some more stuff for the centerpieces. We’re so funny. We go in every week with the 40% off coupon they have in the weekly flyer, and get one item each. We have collected all the vases for the centerpieces, so now we are working on the mirrors.

I’m still not sure what to do for favors. There is still plenty of time, but I would like to start gathering ideas so I can start pricing things out. If possible, I would like to keep the favors to approximately $1 to $1.50 each. I was thinking of doing something similar to what Mrs. JB had at her reception, so Mrs. JB, where did you get those clear plastic boxes to put the candies in???? I have looked around, but have been unsuccessful so far. I was thinking of doing a box with candies and then a bookmark attached with ribbon. Anybody else have some ideas???

Moocher alert!

Okay, I am in need of some advice. And feel free to tell me if I’m being stupid and petty about this.

We had a new employee start with us back in mid-November. He doesn’t have a car and our office is located just south of town. Turns out he lives quite close to me, so on his second day on the job, he asked me if I could give him rides to and from work since we live so close together. I said sure and have been picking him up and dropping him off everyday (that I’ve been in the office) since. It’s not really that much out of my way, but some mornings I go to the chiropractor before work, so I drive downtown and then back to his place to pick him up, then to work (this trip is out of my way because my chiropractor’s office is already on the way to work). It is also a pain if I am not planning on going home after work. I do tell him sometimes that I can’t give him a ride if I am not heading home after work. But, 95% of the time, I pick him up and drop him off. Super convenient for him, and I don’t mind.

When he was here for his interview in early November, he did say he was planning on getting a car.

So here is where the problem is. A few days after I started giving him rides, so back in November, he said to me “I appreciate you giving me rides. If you like, I could chip in for gas”. He was probably expecting me to say no that’s not necessary, but instead I replied “that would be great; yes”. Well, that was 3 months ago and I have yet to see a dime.

How do I subtlety remind him that he offered to give me gas money? I really don’t want to give him rides anymore if he is not going to give me some gas money. I don’t want to be mean, but it does cost me extra time and gas to give him rides everyday. Any advice?