Merry Christmas from Kely!

I took this photo of Kely, wearing one of Coco's holiday dresses and she just posed with the most serene look on her face...perfect looks for a dress named Peace on Earth...

Kely's not wild about wearing hats, though...so the pretty Christmas Candy hat is placed next to her...It looks like a present, don't you think?

In her Starry Night dress, she let me put on the tiara, but wouldn't look at the camera, but I thought this photo looked very regal anyway...

Here she is wearing Coco's pearl necklace, a lovely piece created by The Domestic Dogdess, looking very elegant and festive! 

We wish for all our friends a Very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, too!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Giving Thanks...to all our friends, to scrumptious food, to fresh kitty greens, for laps to snuggle in, for love! 

Happy Thanksgiving to Everyone!

Simply Sunday Morning...

I always tell people that a Cornish Rex will sit on a heat pad (a pet safe one, of course--I use this kind in my house: ) even when it's 95 degrees outside. Now that it's late Autumn, one must add oodles of blankies to burrow in, too!

This weekend, Kely and her roomie, Sammy, are being introduced to a Cornish Rex I am fostering. I am taking it slow and easy, but so far so good...no fisticuffs! My other 3 cats aren't being so congenial, and Nolo has ended up with a few scrapes from their swats! 

The above photo is of Nolo at the shelter...he didn't know what was happening to him. His owner died, and after a month the relatives that took him in found they were allergic, so they surrendered him to the Fairfax County Shelter. Fortunately for Nolo, the shelter contacted Sphynx Open Arms Rescue and through them, I was contacted...and he was saved! 

Nolo will stay with me until he finds his forever home, and I want everyone in the house to be happy, so am trying to acclimate everyone with the least stress on them and me! Nolo is a love bug, and while he does have a heart problem that requires medication, he has just had a complete physical, lab work, cardiology visit and dental cleaning and is up-to-date on vaccines and is microchipped.

If you would like to learn more about Nolo and find out how to adopt him, contact Sphynx Open Arms Rescue and you can read about him HERE and on our Curlz and Swirlz blog from time to time. 

Kely may be a grumpy Grannie Cat at times, and Sammy isn't comfortable in new situations, but Sharing is Caring and I am sure they would want you all to know about Nolo!

Monday Mewsings

Kely doesn't plan on being out in the rain anytime soon...but she does have a raincoat, hahameow!

Although with the hood up, she kind of reminds me of those ladies in the '60's with the bouffant hair dryer caps on!

Dona Nobis Pacem #blog4peace #blogblast4peace

"If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other" Mother Teresa

We join the world in the 2015 Blog Blast 4 Peace...

We know in our hearts that Peace is Possible 

We want our voice to be heard around the world!

#BlogPaws Wordless Wednesday...Conjuring Up a Spell~

Kely's conjuring up a spell for Halloween, wearing a cute Halloween Cupcake dress from Tammy Peace. This is one of Coco's dresses that Kely can wear, too!

OK...Who Wore It Better? (Kely says 'Age before Beauty'...Hahameow!)

And it's Wednesday so don't fur-get to Hop!

Tongue Out Tuesday 'n More!

Pink Tongue, Pink Dress, Pink Blankie...Kely looks Pretty in Pink, doesn't she?!

I apologize for the lapse in posting updates...so behind that I have friends contacting me to ask if Kely is ok! When one has a Grannie Cat, sometimes the silence can mean said kitty has crossed the bridge...

I am happy to report that Kely is doing very well and since starting the meds for her presumptive IBD, she has had no vomiting since we began the prednisolone, and she has gained another 4 ounces! She now weighs 5# 12 oz! 

We stopped her laser therapy for her hip and spine arthritis on the chance that she might have intestinal cancer...and laser therapy is not recommended if a pet has cancer. But one of the veterinarians where I work is working on becoming certified in Acupuncture and so Kely begun getting treatments as of last week. She will get one treatment a week for 4 weeks and we will see how she is doing then... 

http://justcatsclinic.com/just-cats-announcement-dr-laura-to-become-acupuncture-certified/

Fall is now upon us, and there will be fewer days where Kely will be able to stroll around outside, so we have been making the most of the nicer days, even if it's just for a brief sniff o' the Autumn air!

She even dressed up in Coco's new Halloween costume...well, it's couture, not costume!

so fun when mother and daughter can share outfits! Here's Coco in Kely's new costume!

Both kitties are more sweet than scary...and neither one has to worry about wearing some silly costume like Disco did last year, hahameow!

Not all cats let their humans dress them up...but I think that Cornish Rex and Sphynx are so people oriented that they just consider it more attention and more smooches...both which they demand!

Tongue Out Tuesday...Not very LadyCatLike, but Cute!

Kely wasn't giving me a 'raspberry' when I caught her mid-lick during a grooming session, hahameow!

Kely paying her respects to the passing of
Bob Simon, the founder of Reston

While I do bathe her once a week to keep her sweet feet smellin' sweet, one sign that a cat is feeling good is that it continues to groom itself! She is feeling pretty good, has a good appetite and has put on a 4 ounces since the specialist visit! 

She did vomit twice last week, so I just started her on prednisolone and hope that helps her GI inflammation and of course, it will increase her appetite...one of the side effects that can be tough on a fat cat...but she isn't one of those, unlike Disco!

The weather has been cold and rainy (but no flooding here, Thank Cod!) so Kely and I haven't been spending time outside much, but here are a couple of lovely LadyCat pix from the past month, for your viewing pleasure!

Monday Mewsings...

I have had more than one friend email me, asking how Kely is doing and worrying because I hadn't posted an update on her... She had her cardiologist visit, dressed up in her daughter's Ice Cream ensemble, much to the smiles of all the staff at CVCA!

Her heart is really very good for a 15 year old kitty, with no concerns as far as anesthesia or using steroids as part of her future treatment for her tummy issues...

She is eating some freeze-dried raw (Stella and Chewy's) and some FreshPet Vital Grain Free (though not veggie free--darn--but she loves it) and some other varied grain & veggie free canned food and hasn't vomited in over 2 weeks. She started on Metronidazole about 10 days ago (25mg twice a day) and has put on 3 ounces since her Internal Medicine vet visit.

So, we are going to try the metronidazole and diet change for about 6 weeks and see how she is doing and wait to add the prednisolone and Leukeran for now. The diet change and anti-inflammatory effects of the metronidazole may be enough to get her to gain weight and stop vomiting and we can save the other drugs if and when they are needed.

In the midst of all those other doctors visits, I let her laser therapy sessions for her spine and hip arthritis lapse, but started up again last week. Of course, she has to be fashionably dressed for that, too!

And yesterday, she got to share some sun puddle time with her daughter, Coco the Couture cat...in the buff, of course!

Maybe one day, they can strut the Cat Walk together, but for now, this is about as close and cozy as Kely wants to be to Coco...

But she did get in some 'lap time' with Bronze Bob at Lake Anne this week... and we learned today that the real Bob Simon, the founder of Reston, passed away peacefully at home today. He was 101 years old and I have fond memories of meeting him last year when I gave him a tour of the newly opened Just Cats Clinic where I work. Here's a link to a nice article about him in Reston Now

The weather is telling us Fall is on the way and makes for meandering around Lake Anne very nice, including stopping by PetMac to say hello and do some window shopping!

So there's the update for Kely! Be sure to follow her on Instagram, too and catch all her new photos!

https://instagram.com/kely_with_one_l/

Monday Mewsings

Well, here it is Monday already! Kely had her Internal Medicine appointment last Thursday with Dr Gisselman at the Hope Advanced Veterinary Center and I got a lot of information to help me decide on a treatment plan for Kely.

I went in with all her records, lab work, X-rays and previous heart scans and the doctor spent a lot of time gathering information from me about Kely. They then whisked her off to have an ultrasound, while I waited, distracting myself on my laptop, but not really being able to focus on anything.

The doctor went over the ultrasound report with me: diffusely thickened small intestines, enlarged mesenteric lymph nodes, a prominent spleen, a course liver and some gallbladder debris. Given her chronic vomiting, inability to gain weight despite a good appetite and the changes seen on the ultrasound, they feel she has either IBD or small cell mucosal GI lymphoma.

Without doing full-thickness intestinal biopsies, a definitive diagnosis can't be made, but I could elect to treat her on her symptoms and see if she improves. Having been through that with Disco when he was 7 years old, I know that knowing what he has is actually a comfort to me and he has responded very well to his treatment for IBD and at least at the time, I knew he didn't have lymphoma. 

So now to decide on how to proceed with Kely, who is 15...

Because she has a soft heart murmur, I have elected to have her see a cardiologist. She saw one every year when she was a breeding cat, but her last heart scan was in 20005 and before starting her on steroids, it is best to reevaluate her murmur. So she has that appointment on Friday and then after talking to my vets about her treatment options, I will decide if to treat her empirically and see if she improves or take the big plunge and go for exploratory surgery and obtain the biopsies for a true diagnosis.

I am leaning towards not doing that, as I know small cell lymphoma responds quite well to a similar therapy that we did for Disco--steroids, metronidazole and leukeran. As hard as it is to say, money is a factor in my decision, too as she is not covered by pet insurance and any care with an oncologist would be expensive. As the specialist said, I can try treating her without the surgery and if she doesn't improve, then go for the biopsies after a few months of trying meds and a diet change.

I think I am comfortable doing that...but will know more after consulting with my vets. I will let everyone know next Monday how we will proceed...and til then, I am grateful for your purrs  and good thoughts...I know we all love Kely and that makes me smile!

Monday Mewsings

Kely taking in some sun and sniffin' the breeze!

Harumph! Three Mondays have passed since Kely last shared her mewsings! So, let's cat-ch up!!

There's been lots of napping, that's a given...

Catching some rays and 40 winks at Just Cats Clinic

And a little work..making sure the Weruva shipment is all accounted for at Just Cats Clinic...

Kely says 'One of these cases of Weruva has my name on it!'

And of course, afternoon strolls out along the boardwalk at Lake Anne...

The lovely Kely, enjoying the view at Lake Anne

Those afternoon contemplative sessions by the lake are maybe my favorite time of day... It gives me such joy to see Kely happy and contented, without a care in the world!

But as carefree as Kely is, I'm a little worried about her chronic vomiting, once a day every few days, usually in the morning after we arrive at work and usually not food, but clear liquid. 

So after blood tests to rule out IBD or chronic pancreatitis and X-rays to look for a foreign body or mass...

Kely, having some one-on-one time with Teri

She has an appointment on Thursday 8/20 with the Internal Medicine experts at The Hope Center, where I used to work. The appointment will take about 2 hours and they will give us a treatment plan based on what they find...and we will go from there.

I'll be sure to update all Kely's fans after the visit to see Dr Gisselman! And maybe we'll both stop for a bite to eat after her appointment...cuz she has to fast for it and I'll probably be too nervous to eat before the visit!

Kely dining out at The Blue Iguana