Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Wednesday Scramble

Tomorrow's Guest

Maggie Toussaint, author of the newest Cleopatra Jones mystery, On the Nickel, will be here tomorrow. Her post is about Secrets...


That Interview with Chuck Sambuchino

If you missed my interview of Chuck Sambuchino (of the well-known Guide to Literary Agents blog) over at Chiseled in Rock blog yesterday, you can find it here.


What I'm Reading

Devil's Corner by Lisa Scottoline. I'm way behind on reading Scottoline's excellent thrillers, so I'm enjoying this one a lot.


An Update on Katrina Katie Kitten

Katie is doing well these days, getting healthier and happier each day. She plays hard now without repercussions, she's eating so much I call her Miss Piggy, and she's reasonably accepting of the strange treatment protocol she's subjected to.

Katie has a mega-esophagus which means food tends to collect there instead of passing quickly into her stomach. Since she also might have a hiatal hernia, she's probably also suffering from acid reflux and food backing up into the esophagus, causing all kinds of pain, ulceration, etc.

The treatment involves three different medicines, two of them administered three times a day with varying requirements for distance from other meds and feeding. She must be standing upright while she's eating, and we have to keep her vertical for 30 minutes after she eats (and right now that happens six times a day). In mid-April there will be more tests to check on her progress and to determine if the hernia is really there and if so, if it can be repaired.

I shudder to think of what would have happened to Katie if she had been adopted by a younger working couple who couldn't give her this amount of time. And to be truthful, we would never willingly have adopted a special needs kitten if we had known about it ahead of time. Of course, after the first day, no one could have pried her out of her household, so we're in it for the duration.

I'm not sure what the long-term prognosis is yet, but for now, we have our playful, fun, and happy kitten back. And that's worth a lot. I'll have some new Katie photos next week.

10 comments:

RHYTHM AND RHYME said...

I love reading your scramble,
I do hope your kitty is progressing, I dislike seeing any animal not well. My cat was diabetic for the last four years of her life and I used to give 2 shots of insulin daily.

Have a good day and I will look forward to coming post.
Yvonne.

Luanne G. Smith said...

I enjoyed the interview with Chuck Sambuchino yesterday.

Patricia Stoltey said...

Hi Yvonne -- we certainly get attached to our pets, don't we?

Thanks, L.G. -- Chuck's an interesting guy and super nice to work with.

Hilary Melton-Butcher said...

Hi Patricia .. gosh - Katie kitten is a standful .. but great that you're all in it for the long haul. My sincere wishes to one and all .. Hilary

Patricia Stoltey said...

Thanks, Hilary -- she's a precious kitten with lots of personality. We're hooked.

Mason Canyon said...

Glad to hear Katie is doing so well. Hopefully the medicine is doing what it should be doing to help her. She is a very lucky kitty to have you to take care of her.

I enjoy Lisa Scottoline's books. She keeps you guessing. Have a great Wednesday.

Mason
Thoughts in Progress

April Moore said...

I'm glad to hear Miss Katie is on the mend--thanks to her wonderful parents!
Great interview with Chuck, too.

Anonymous said...

Pat - So glad that Katie is doing as well as she is. I have so much admiration for you for taking care of her and not giving up on her :-). And I am very much looking forward to your guest tomorrow!

Patricia Stoltey said...

Good morning, Mason. I have a nice collection of unread Scottoline books in my bookcase, so I'm set for read-a-thon.

Hi April -- thanks! I'm hoping we get Chuck back to an NCW conference soon.

Yes, Margot, we do love our mystery authors, don't we? And little Katie is just too cute and lovey to give up on. We're very fortunate to have found each other (but boy is she spoiled after all this attention).

Sheila Deeth said...

She sounds wonderful. I know what you mean about not choosing to adopt a special needs pet, but so nice that she came to you and you're there for her.