lauowolf’s blog

And for the next round of Stump the Vet

nobody@vox.com(lauowolf) — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 14:16:12 -0800

We will ply The Boy with massive antibiotics.

No cancer!!!!!
Fungal cultures not growing!!!

So we're officially at WTF.
Newest working thesis is bone swelling in jaw is unrelated to tissue changes in kneecaps.
Which become again caused by his lousy kittenhood nutrition.
And this lot is perhaps some unknown invasive infection of the jaw.

So three-weeks broad spectrum antibiotics, and cross our fingers that he winds up with a functional jaw after the dust settles.
After the first week we can be looking for improvement.

IT'S ANOTHER ONE OF THOSE DANG BLACK AND WHITE CATS AND THEIR MYSTERY ILLNESSES!!

GirlCat with her week spa stay at UC Davis because of unexplained fluid in lungs -- she got a spigot in her chest.
OliverCat had random seizures.
Motley had unexplained anemia to force us to adopt him.
And then picked up a liver infection.

And Lurker's got TK and his Bad Ways...

Next time I want a cat with a warranty.

Read and post comments | Send to a friend

And we continue to wait....

nobody@vox.com(lauowolf) — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 19:43:01 -0800

I took Motley in to the vet on Friday.

P1010888

Motley here demonstrating the motleyness of his fur.
He vamped the vet, as usual... She couldn't get his heartrate because he was purring so hard.
And it wasn't scardycat purring, it was Pretty Lady Patting ME!! purrs.
And she admired his coat, which to me demonstrates that she was smitten, since I think it just looks like a bad die job.
"We'll just take Big Boy back and get his weight and some blood." PURR PURR"
He ends up having a thyroid problem, resolvable with pills.
And he is good about pills.
And good about the vet too.
I think it's that he has had a series of really odd medical problems (liver infection?), and has noticed that going to the vet makes him feel better.
Him's very very smart boy.

Boe continues to be a mystery.
Nothing definite back yet, preliminary results just show some inflammation.
I did ask if nothing definite meant not definitely cancer, but sadly it does not.
So we wait.

P1010394

Boe, being mysterious.
He is getting impatient about being locked in, but it is his own fault for being creepy about coming when called.
He comes, and sits ten feet off, to see what is up with you.
Too smart for his own good kitty therefore has to stay locked in for a while, so I can get my hands on him.

New kitty, NikitaKit wins Best Kitten Ever prize for breaking into Boe's prison cell to steal his treats, and staying to play with him.
Gently.
Nikita jumps on Sisko hard enough to knock him over.
But plays bat paws around the corner with Boe.
Good kitty.
I have to get new photos of him, cos his kitten ruff is turning into serious plumage.
It's like a lion's mane.
I had no idea that floofy kittens did this, having never had one from a kitten before.
He's a seriously absurd child.

Read and post comments | Send to a friend

Your history lesson for the day

nobody@vox.com(lauowolf) — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 11:03:58 -0800

Beatles 3000

Gotta go arrange for heart to be frozen.

Read and post comments | Send to a friend

Mr. Boe has the Bedroom

nobody@vox.com(lauowolf) — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 21:45:26 -0800

He's all settled in with his meds and his babyfuds and some experimental small can fuds too.
Has his own kingdom in the bedroom, but is locked in cos I think morphined kittums belong inside.
And he has a history of deciding to lope off alone when he feels bad.

So he's set up with fuds and live cat nips and a heating pad under his floofy blankie.
(Floofy blankie gets lots of kneading and cuddling on.)

I've been carrying in the Wolfie Cat, who is his buddy, to den up in the bedroom with us at night.
To cut the boredom a bit.
And Motley, who expects to sleep on the bed.
(And everybody loves Motley, who appears to be just stuffed with Cat Charisma.)

So the first time I found Idiot Kitten in there, I assumed he had done the Ninja Kitty thing, and clouded my mind while he slipped into the room unnoticed.
The cat who walks through walls.....
So I just let him nest with all the Big Boys too, since he was sleepy.
(Some times the Big Guys don't like him around since he is much given to unexpected enthusiastic pounces.)
That was yesterday.

So today I was in there opening babyfoods for Boe, talking babycat talk and making babyfud bottle top noises, and then there he was again, inside the room.
Hmmm...
Well Boe actually wants his tasty treats, and him's a shy type, so I pick up the crazy child and chuck him out the door.
Fair enough.
And turn around and he's there again.

Crazy boy has been squeezing through the bottom of the former heater.
(Disconnected, whew.)
Then coming out behind the wardrobe, and crawling under it to get
into the room.
With possible side trip to Narnia, for all I know.

Because he has to be where the people are.
Such a sweetie.

Luckily, it doesn't seem to work the other way.
He saw me look at him, and went all flat and rug-like on the floor, trying to get back under it, but didn't seem to be able to manage it.

Ten minutes later there is a scratching noise out in the hall.
Silmi is trying to figure out where Nikki Kitten went.
I have an image of all the cats ending up in the bedroom this way, like the Monty Python skit with the room full of mailmen and milkmen.

Read and post comments | Send to a friend

Dang, Dang, Dang. And Some More Dang, Too

nobody@vox.com(lauowolf) — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 11:40:27 -0800

Very, very bad vet news about the Boe Kitty.
My beautiful tuxie child.

P1010685

You might remember the Defective Knee-Cap Saga from last year, in which the final official opinion was that The Boy just had weak bones, probably because of his feral childhood.
Fuzzy bits on xrays being healing of injuries.
Surgeon's first theory having been that he was being raised on tofu by crazed hippie owners - us - and had not enough calcium.
Not.
So over Christmas last year he had one knee problem, then in late spring another.
Well, if one was weak, so was the other, so that sort-of made sense.
So we were to let his little patellas heal by keeping him in to enforce rest and minimize jumps, and he would be pretty much okay.
And he's been going about his kitty business, being okay.

I was skritching him under the chin, and found a lump.
My immediate thought was, of course, abcess, or possibly dental problems.
Well, no.

The lump is misshapen bone on the side of his jaw, causing increasing difficulties in eating, grooming and the like.
He's marginally okay now, but if it keeps growing it will doom him.

Their current working theory on the cause is bone cancer.
HIM IS NOT QUITE TWO YEAR'S OLD.
The vet is saying that maybe he was born with it.
Which is more just badness in the universe than my brain can hold.
If is this, he can get steroids for a while to slow things down, but we're talking months.
It's his jaw, which is a very bad place indeed.

The only alternate theory is a possible systemic infection by one of a couple of fungal thingies.
One of which might make sense - an infection from pigeon or bat droppings - since we have no idea where his young feral mom had her nest.
My rapid reading through googled sources says it is known to go systemic in young cats.
The radiologist doesn't like this concept, and is thinking an early injury lead to a tumor which spread.

I do like the fungal theory, since anti-fungals would mean constant medication, but the possibility of a longer term survival with some reasonable quality of life.
And there is no history of an actual accute injury.
His feral family was observed and mom and litter trapped as soon as possible.
He was already about four months old when trapped because he was the smart boy who evaded the traps.
But no one ever said he was limping - only that he was too damned smart for his own good.

He goes in for a bone biopsy Tuesday morning to sort it out, since the treatments would be completely opposite.
So be thinking good thoughts about funguses for us.

Read and post comments | Send to a friend

And Peg of Tilling suggests these

nobody@vox.com(lauowolf) — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 11:07:41 -0800

Which sound kind of killer.
Official recipe here.

Coal Cookies

1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 1/3 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp espresso powder (?? I'm assuming good quality instant coffee...)
1 tbsp vanilla
1/2 tsp salt

Cream together.
Add

2 large eggs

Mix until smooth.
Stir in

2/3 cup (2 ounces) Dutch-process cocoa

then

1 1/2 cup flour
3/4 tsp baking powder
2 cups (12 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips.

Dough will be stiff.

The recipe says you can exchange these for a mixture of raisin, chips, and nuts.
My lips are sealed as to the blasphemous nature of adding raisins to chocolate.
Sure they are.

!!!!UNCLEAN!!!!!

Don't do it!

If you want trail mix, make trail mix, but don't go putting RAISINS in chocolate.
Sorry.. couldn't help that.
I'm better now.

Preheat oven to 350.

Form balls a little more than an inch each - a tablespoon, or about 1 1/8 ounces).
Drop onto greased cookie sheet (or use parchment paper).
Bake 12 minutes - they will look not-quite done in the gooey, rich, melty, chocolate center......
Let them cool for about 10 minutes, to prevent injury.
Then, as you take cookies off sheet, shape them back into little rough balls.

Hey, a recipe that WANTS me to mash the cookie into a shapeless mass of stuff!!

Read and post comments | Send to a friend

Kzinti offers this possibility

nobody@vox.com(lauowolf) — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 10:52:21 -0800

There's a link to pictures and such.
But here's a quickrun through:

Jam Tiles

1/2 cup softened unsalted butter
2/3 confectioner's sugar
1 egg yolk
1/2 tsp almond extract
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
1/8 tsp salt

Beat together until creamy.
Add

1 1/3 cup flour

Mix until blended.
Divide dough in half, shape into 1 inch thick disk and chill at least an hour.

Roll out disc to 1/8 inch thickness, and cut into small shapes - could be squares, could be diamonds.
A pinking edge would look cool.
Place 1 inch apart on parchment paper on baking sheet, and return to refrigerator - chill 10 minutes.
(This helps them look all crisp-edged.)
Pre-heat oven to 350.

Bake 8-10 minutes, until edges start to brown, and cool on wire rack.

Roll out remaining disc, and cut into same shape.
Now.. for fanciness... you can cut into the middle of this set of discs with any decorative cutters you like.
Officially the receipe wants 35 tops and bottoms, and 5 sets of JOY NOEL, but, ya know, whatever....
Chill and bake as above.

Now, your choice of jam - raspberry or Apricot are recommended, but let's continue with or theme of whatever,
Spread jam on bottom/plain cookies, and top with cutout cookie, like a sandwich.
Dust with confectioners' sugar, and can haz fanci.

If you had letters, you could give someone their name in letters.
Or a message (love, peace, that kind of stuff).
Or you could cut out snow flake.
Or create a kitty silhouette, with circle, ears and tail.
And if it didn't quite work, I guess you'd have to eat the rejects.

Read and post comments | Send to a friend

The Utterly Sinful Lemon Cream Cheese Cookie

nobody@vox.com(lauowolf) — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 16:11:03 -0800

Because, ya know,
Once you are baking cookies, there are bound to be things like butter and sugar around, this recipe make no attempt whatsoever to be anything but rich and decadent.
Oh, and yummy.

Preheat oven to 350

Cream together until smooth
1 cup butter (two sticks)
3 ounces of cream cheese
1 cup of sugar

Add
1 egg yolk
1/2 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp MINIMUM finely grated fresh lemon peel.
(frankly, the more the better - I've put in as much as 4, but I like them very lemony.)

You can make lemonade with the grated lemons.
Or Grog.

Beat mixture until light

Add
2 1/2 cups shifted white flour
1/2 tsp salt

Mix

You can either press through cookie press, if you have one and are feeling handy.
Or scoop a generous 2 tablespoon ball with a melon-baller, and push flat.
Or chill, roll into an inch diameter log and slice.
Just depends on how finicky you are feeling.

Bake at 350 for approximately 15 minutes, or until edges are lightly browned, but cookie itself is still light.
Let cool, preferably on a rack, preferably don't sample too many - though any that get too browned, or not browned enough, or possibly not perfectly shaped, are fair game.

Read and post comments | Send to a friend

If you'll show me yours, I'll show you mine!

nobody@vox.com(lauowolf) — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 15:54:44 -0800

I have a Concept.
And need a little help with it.

I'm thinking of delivering small collections of cookies to people for Christmas.
You know, a half a dozen or so of three or four really good cookies in a nice box of some sort.
Rather than buying random thingies no one needs.

The trouble is, I'm not a big one for baking stuff.
So I have only the one killer cookie recipe.

So, if I posted my utterly sinful Lemon Creamcheese Shortbread recipe?
Any takers??

Read and post comments | Send to a friend

Awwwww

nobody@vox.com(lauowolf) — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 12:17:05 -0800

I can haz mittenz!
(And do haz California child off in a New York winter, so YAY)
thnx

Read and post comments | Send to a friend