Day #261 – Worries About Pat

Gatlinburg TN

Kelly and I are a bit worried about her mother, Pat.  If you’ve read earlier blog entries, you’ll remember that she has bi-polar disorder.  And, about 15 years ago, she had a brain aneurysm.  As a result, she has some difficulty in solving problems, making decisions, and analyzing situations.

Pat has been complaining of bilateral shoulder pain since early May.  We’ve encouraged her to see a doctor, and, over time, she has done so.  A rheumatologist ruled out arthritis.  An acupuncturist was unable to reduce her pain.  Recently, she saw an orthopedic specialist who immediately told her she needed surgery to repair rotator cuff tears in both shoulders.  He sent her to physical therapy, which she attended sporadically.  A second orthopedic guy told her she did not need surgery, but needed to stick with physical therapy.

As a result of seeing all these different doctors, she is amassing quite a stock pile of drugs.  We weren’t sure what all she was taking, but she was definitely making her own choices about amount, combinations, and frequency.

After talking this over for quite a while, and talking with Kelly’s brother Chris, we all agreed that I would go to Sarasota for a while to help Pat make some decisions about her medical care.

Kelly has stopped taking calls from her mother.  I am handling all conversations with Pat.  This has been pretty stressful for all involved, but I’m really happy that Kelly can detach herself in this way.

The kittens continue to give us joy.  We really want to keep one….or two…. But, we know we cannot.

Day #257 – Kittens Start to Play

Gatlinburg TN

I swear every time I turn around, the fur balls have grown.  At this morning’s 6 AM feeding, I noticed that Stripey’s ears are now at the top of her head and her head is looking more like a cat’s head.

A few days ago, a woman who owns a dog-sitting service loaned us a new crate for the kittens.  It fits perfectly on a back bunk and has doors on both one end and one side.  It is so easy to use and it’s plenty big enough for the gang.

Last night, Kelly noticed that the kittens leave their nest area and go to another corner of the crate to move their bowels.  They still don’t have the pee thing down yet, but this is real progress.  I think it’s time for a litter box!

Today we discovered that they’re playing with each other.  This is brand new.  They try to crouch and pounce, but their fat bellies and shaky legs get in their way.  Still, they’re rolling around and biting any body part that moves.

On Thursday, the vet recommended that we start weaning them.  He suggested starting with milk on a finger until they can lap from a saucer, then mixing canned food with the milk.  Since the kittens are chewing on the bottle nipples, and ignoring my milky fingers, I decided to skip a couple steps.  I got a can of Newman’s organic cat food (who knew?!?) for them.  Stripey loved it.  Fran and Buffy tried it.  Gray was very confused.  All finished up with a bottle.  I’m calling this a success and will try again tomorrow.