Random 5 for January 14, 2024 – Gus, eyes, glasses, renovations, fun

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I don’t feel good. My man bits hurt.

I’m late, I’m late – Longtime readers know that my cats only get sick on weekends and holidays. It was a double decker today. Gus has a urinary blockage so off we went to the emergency vet ($$$) early this morning. They need to catheterize him and clear it out. He’ll be there for two or three days. I have no idea how I will explain his absence to Sasha. Oh yeah, it’s my birthday today so in addition to Gus’s emergency, Gracie did a major barf. Bangs head on table! Now I can include weekends, holidays and birthdays to the list for cat emergencies.

Well dang! – I went to my eye doc this week and everything is good. I have a slight case of blepharitis and there is a drop for that. It kills demodex completely. It’s new (think $$$$) but my doc was able to get it for a reasonable co-pay. That rarely happens.

After that bit of good news, I had my eye prescription checked. I went to a new place and that doc said my prescription needs to be upped. I have been having a lot of trouble reading labels, small print on bottles, computer screens and things like that. Reading books was very fatiguing. Something she said triggered me to try my old glasses (the last prescription before the current one). When I got the one I currently have, the doc said my prescription was too strong and made them weaker. The old ones were a perfect prescription fit for now. Until I get the new ones, I can use these and be able to see close-up. I never liked the frames on the newer ones and obviously the prescription wasn’t working for me. I got them from a big box store at a low cost. My mom would say, “You get what you pay for!”

A bright spot! – We got a second quote on our bathroom remodel and it’s much more affordable. It’s a lesson to always get multiple bids. I expected them to be similar, but they weren’t. Not by a long shot. This project may get done!

The week has been a mix – Some good news and some not so good. The next few weeks have a lot of fun and interesting activities going on. Aside from the “Gus crisis,” I’m hopeful. Fingers crossed that his issues can be managed without a white knuckle trip to an emergency vet every few months.

So how was your week?

80 thoughts on “Random 5 for January 14, 2024 – Gus, eyes, glasses, renovations, fun”

  2. Happy Birthday, Kate – That sounds like lots of excitement and activity for your birthday – but not likely the excitement and activity that you were looking for. Poor Gus. Sending warm hugs his way for a quick and thorough recovery.
    Second+ quotes on renos and repairs always makes sense. We had our roof redone this past summer. We were shocked how much lower the fourth quote we received was, and we ended up delighted with the work that was done.
    Hoping that you had some fun and relaxing birthday celebrating as well!

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  7. Happy birthday! Sorry for the weekend feline health drama, though. We’ve always been bad about getting multiple quotes for things, but you’re absolutely right of course. I need to be better about that. Interesting that they weren’t even similar. – Marty

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  9. I’m sorry to read about your eye problems, it’s always something. I’m not entirely surprised about buying glasses from a big box store at a low cost. My ophthalmologist warned me from doing that saying pretty much what your mom would have said, “You get what you pay for!”

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    • The whole household is going crazy. For a very quiet laid back cat, Gus made a presence. Sasha is not eating as usual this morning. Hoping to hear from the vet this morning. Very worried this will be an on-going thing.

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  11. Happy Birthday (better late than never).
    Trixie, Caspurr and Shimshi send Gus their best wishes for a full and swift recovery.
    As far as your eyes go – best wishes there, too. When will the US get a decent, universal, tax-funded healthcare system like the rest of the civilised world???

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  12. Happy Birthday!! Not fun to spend your special day with a trip to the vet and a new diet for the “patient”…..if it solves the problem I guess that’s a good thing. YAY on the reasonable bathroom reno project – there was a bright cloud among the dark ones after all with a REASONABLE quote.

    Hugs, Pam

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    • Thanks. Need the hugs today. Haven’t heard from vet yet. Hoping we can get someplace where this doesn’t happen like this. It’s very nerve wracking. New diet is $$$ and vet said if he’s on it and eats another cat’s food, it will negate the progress. I feel sorry for him. He must be scared.

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      • Cats really don’t like a change in the “house karma” – much like humans. They sure pick up on things quickly and if it’s different they feel unsettled I guess. Hopefully everything is going to work out for Gus………

        More Hugs, Pam

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  15. Not your most-memorable birthday. I hope it’s a quick fix for Gus’ man bits. And it was once and done for Gracie’s barf. Sigh. Never a dull moment at your house and at least it didn’t happen during the big snowstorm making it difficult to get to the vet’s office. I Googled “blepharitis” – now when I was at the eye doc last week for my eye infection, he told me I had tiny crusty things on my eyelashes. I said I wash my eyes but if I scrubbed them harder, I’d have no lashes … I don’t wear makeup anymore, so I said I take a Q-tip and dip it in soap to get rid of it the best I can. He told me to buy exfoliating pads and use them instead of soap. So I bought some Ocuscrub exfoliating pads to use when I’m done with the antibiotic drops. I never had issues like this when I wore makeup – I used non-oily eye makeup remover pads and Purpose Cleansing Wash for my face and hands as I wore hard contact lenses. They changed the formula for Purpose and it makes my hands red and cracked. I’ve been using Tone bar soap and they’ve discontinued it. Unbelievably you can buy it on Amazon and it is $120.00 (not a typo) for six bars.

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    • Those are good. Hydrochlor (same company) is also good. It’s a spray you put on a cotton ball and rub. I never had issues when I wore makeup either. I think it has more to do with aging than with makeup. My dermatologist recommends Cetaphil for cleaning but there are other good ones like Aveeno. If you prefer a bar, Dove makes a sensitive skin version.

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      • That’s good to know – I will finish the drops tomorrow. Cetaphil works for my face, but dries out my hands, just like Purpose. I use the Baby Aveeno Oatmeal Wash – it is soothing. Thanks for the tip about Dove. My hands have always been sensitive … when I worked on site, I had to wait about five minutes before picking up a print job or a fax “hot off the press” as I was allergic to toner and the hot toner irritated my hands. I often donned white cotton gloves if I was in a hurry to get something done to prevent redness.

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  16. Happy birthday, Kate. At least it wasn’t the kind of birthday year that required a party. I’m glad you got a lower quote on your bathroom. Every week should have some good news to go with the bad. I hope Gus recovers quickly.

    The memorable news here for the week was the cold weather. No snow, but it got down to the low teens. Brrr!

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  24. Purrayers and Power of the Paw that Gud is better – blockages are a very bad thing.
    Our huMom had the same problem a couple years ago with her glasses. She had never liked the new ones, and was relieved when the frame broke and led her to find she could see better with the old ones !

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    • Fingers crossed for Gus. We all miss him. When I bought those glasses, I was kind of forced into them. Only frames that really fit but the color (rose gold) was wrong for my face. The prescription either changed back or wasn’t right but they are going to the donate pile for sure.

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  25. Those are not fun birthday surprises. I don’t want to be one of those people who is just certain she knows the answers – and I think I might have mentioned this before. But! Charlie the First had constant recurrent bladder infections and blockages. The vet finally opened him up and opened the bladder, clearing out what he described as gravel the size of old fashioned clay litter. He never had another UTI. Probably has nothing to do with Gus and your vet has already considered this. I just didn’t want to not say it in case it could help him. Poor Gus! And poor you.

    That eye condition sounded like you were making up the name for it. You know, it was some sort of itis and it makes your eyes all “bleph!” I’m so sorry after getting them under good control you’re having trouble again. I hope you and Gracie and poor Gus all feel better soon.

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    • When you say open up, do you mean surgery? They are talking about washing out but I was too overwhelmed to ask more about the process. For the cost he should be having open heart surgery! I appreciate your perspective. They call it idiopathic which means they don’t have a cause. Not sure if it’s stones or something else. What I saw as symptoms was very subtle but I knew right away. Someone else would have missed it. This is his third visit for the same thing since July. I’d like to get on some regiment to resolve or prevent. They are talking special food. Just looked at costs. Oy vay. Feeding him differently will be a challenge too.

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      • Yes, they surgically opened up his belly, then opened up his bladder. I remember our vet was surprised to find the amount of stones and their size. He sent them to a friend’s lab and they turned out to be calcium, which at the time didn’t really mean anything for a food change. This was twenty years ago. He could not have washed these out as they were far too large to pass.

        Again, probably has nothing to do with Gus but I guess it wouldn’t hurt to ask if you felt like it. Charlie the first was diabetic, too, so that may have played a role.

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  26. OH dear! Not the way to have a good birthday! Hopefully your day gets better and Gus recovers fine! Poor Sasha and poor Gus.
    Glad you were able to get good news about the bathroom remodeling job being kinder to your wallet. 🙂
    Happy Birthday and may the year bring wonderful things!

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  27. Oh, yes, of course on your birthday. Gus is definitely the problem child this month. But at least he’s going to be okay. I’ve had to put multiple pets down around/ on my birthday. Which means $$$…and no pet comes home. But of course you’ll worry until he does come home. Poor Gus. Poor Kate! I hope you got some cake?

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  28. Oh no! What a palaver on your birthday! I hope Gus recovers quickly, and that you manage a celebration despite everything. Happy birthday!

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  29. Poor Gus, and poor wallet for you. What are you going to do if he needs to be on a urinary diet??? That could be quite the adventure with your gang. I hope he gets well soon. Blockages in male cats are no laughing matter. And hooray for the bathroom remodel. We’re in the midst of talking to folks about the kitchen remodel here. Not looking forward to not having a kitchen for a month or so sometime this year.

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    • Oh yes, they are talking about a urinary diet. Oy vay. They say all the cats could be on it. Double oy vay. My biggest worry is that this happens and it’s missed. The symptoms today were very subtle but I knew. Had I been away for the day, he would have suffered. Never had a cat with this issues so it’s new territory for me.

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      • I haven’t had a cat with this either, but my understanding is that the food really helps. Whether everyone will eat it may be a different matter!!

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        • The food runs from $60 to $90 a case of 24 cans 5 oz. According to their info, he would eat 1-3/4 cans a day. The vet said eating (stealing) any other food would negate the positive effect. I haven’t heard from the vet since we took him in. They were going to catheterize him and flush him out. The house is very quiet and Sasha is confused. She didn’t eat much this morning. That’s very unusual for her.

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          • If those are the feeding instructions on the can, take it with a grain of salt. I find they greatly over-estimate how much food to feed. My15 lb cat gets 5.5 ounces a day and is very good with that. But yes, it could be very expensive putting all the cats on that…might have to feed Gus separately?

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