Pet Lovers

[AnikaBrodie]

Dear Frankie,  ... I hope today is a good day for you and @Sammycat1.  Hoping your fluids and meds are doing their thing.  (((Hugs))) and love.

[Sammycat1]

Wednesday report:  Good morning, Schmoosters.  I apologize for not writing yesterday; all this bending up and down to feed and medicate Frankie is beating up my back and Mommy, a.k.a., had to take her own meds and crawl into bed.

Frankie's last appetite stimulant is today.  She fought subq's this a.m. but we still got 2/3 into her.  For the first time in a long time (for me and for her), we are at our editorial command center in my home office...she in her desktop bed (Fay Wray too - they each have their own beds) but I'm also sitting upright typing here for the first time in 2 1/2 months.  Not for long, but small victories!  She goes in for repeat blood work and recheck Saturday with her personal vet.

Thanks for your prayers and encouragements, wonderful photos like @AnikaBrodie's with her kitty on the recliner (Schmoo would have loved those sassy red toenails).  We are all thrilled that Cookie the Cat seems to be doing OK; @beauty junkie, I know what you mean about stress over our kitties hitting us physically--it goes right to my back.

@KitTkat, thanks for your kind words on this thread.  I started it 8 years ago (the first portion, Schmoo 1.0, gone now) when my cat Mr. Schmoo was diagnosed with biventricular congestive heart failure and given days to live.  My kitty kicked butt, though, and with the support of the same vet now treating Frankie and everyone here, he lived nearly 3 years.  I'm writing a book about him!  We welcome you because this is a soft place to fall in friendship about our beloved furry and human ones and great place to talk about our pet's antics and charms.

@Shop Till you Dropand @Tissyanne, you guys are gracious under fire, soft-hearted in spirit and tough as nails taking care of your moms. I admire you both more than you can know.

And now closing special for @KitTkat, a photo of the toughest warrior of all, Mr. Schmoo. May we all have a tenth of that special courage:

[Shop Till you Drop]

Welcome Kitkat---You have found a wonderful, loving place to land, come visit often.  These wonderful friends have bonded over the years.  We have cried over the years for our losses, but wh have shed tears from laughter as well.  I have two senior dogs, Joey and Jake and believe me, my little kings have had many a prayer said for them over the years as well as my Dear Mom.  But it is Precious Schmoo, that brought us here, our Warrior Kitty, and his persistent fight that taught us all to be a little stronger and braver.

Hugs dear friends, have the best day possible,,

BJ-I am so glad Cookie is better

Sammy--Rest your back and give the Girls some tummy rubs from me..

Tissy--Hugs Friend..

[KitTkat]

---

Very handsome boy. I'm sure his story is quite incredible. May God bless you for writing a book about him! Bravery like his is meant to be shared.

It astounds me still sometimes how brave animals can be. Although I tease my Teddy about being scared of every little thing, he has shown bravery many times. They are strong, and I can learn to be stronger through their brave eyes.

Sending prayers and hugs for those that need it. 🐱❤

[Tissyanne]

Hello Schmoo Family, 

I hope all is peaceful tonight. @KitTkat, welcome aboard. I am glad you are here, and you will like the warm fuzzy kindness that resides within. @Sammycat1, I sure hope Frankie is getting along okay, and you too. I hope you are resting as you can. Healing prayers always. @Shop Till you Drop, I am sending hugs, and feelings of comfort across the miles to you, and your Mom. beauty, I am glad Miss Cookie is doing okay, and please know I am praying for you. I sure would like to know you are feeling better. @newtoallthis, I enjoy the pictures of your little Tessa. She is cute, and looks a little pampered. I hope you are doing great. 

I am glad tomorrow is Friday. Even though I stay home now, I have never forgotten that happy Friday feeling. I normally try and take the day off. My son and I usually eat out somewhere, and sometimes we go shop a little.  

[beauty junkie]

Hi everyone. Welcome KitTkat. I love your name. I want to thank eveyrone for praying for my Cookie.I am glad she is doing better.I just hope when the shot wears off in 2 weeks that symptoms don't come back.

Sammycat I hope your pain is getting better.How you do what you do in so much pain must be so hard.Praying that Frankie is responding to her meds. She is a tough cookie like her stepbrother Mr Schmoo.

Shop so hoping that your Mom can feel better,she has suffered through so much and it breaks my heart and for you to watch your Mom go through all this.Prayign for you both.

Tissyanne praying for you and your Mom. I wish her the best and hope she isn't in any pain.Thank you for thinking of me. I see my rheumatologist on Tuesday and hope he can help me. I have an ankle that looks like a redwood tree,so swollen and walking  is getting harder but like MrSchmoo I'm not giving up,can't take me down. I'll just have to go to Home Depot and buy chain link by the yard for a new ankle braclet. lol

[KitTkat]

Thank you for the welcomes. They are warming. 

@beauty junkie I'm so glad to hear your Cookie is doing better. With faith and prayer, her symptoms will stay away after that two week shot wears off. I'm so sorry for your ankle, although I am encouraged by your attitude. I will be praying for that appointment on Tuesday that there will be a good report for you.

@Sammycat1 since there wasn't an update today, just wanted you to know that Frankie is in my prayers and believing in the God that hears and answers those prayers that she is getting better. 

I am trying to wean my bottle fed calf, Snickers, cutting him back to every other day, but the softy that I am couldn't take his crying last night in the rain, so I fed him anyway. He eats hay well and I'm feeding him grain, but he was a special needs calf, since his cow mom rejected him at birth, (he was probably only one day away from passing) and I've babied him, so he's having a harder time letting go of his bottle.

Since I don't know where everyone lives, I don't know if your stuck in snow/cold, or rain or Sun, but I hope you all are safe and warm. God bless.

All my cat kids say a happy MEOW to you!!🐱❤

[Sammycat1]

Friday report:    @KitTkat it sounds like you have quite the menagerie there!  I'm having trouble taking care on seriously ill cat and one semi-healthy one and you're the director of an animal hospital by comparison!

Tomorrow is Frankie's followup checkup plus bloodwork to see how the liver is going.  She has improved in the tiniest baby steps, almost imperceptible. It reminds me about a book written by a writer I admire, mostly for a book she wrote years ago on writing (writers like to read books by other writers on writing--we're obsessed!). 

Her name is Anne Lamott. She also writes essays, and in one book called "Small Victories," she gets across a central theme:  that triumphing over hardships, even in the smallest ways, we grow in gratitude for life's joys, big or little.

It's something I'd also learned caring for Schmoo, and now Frankie.  The other night, she was very ill and lay alone in the hallway. I sobbed, half awake, half asleep, that she'd never jump up onto the bed again, which she'd stopped doing when my back went bad and she fell ill.  Oh how we'd cuddle there; she even rested her head on my hand when we snoozed together.  So I prayed:  for her healing and for me to get better at piloting her through this illness so I could experience this joy again, even if only once.

Two hours later, she jumped on the bed, staying only a half hour.  The next day, she jumped up again, this time closer to me--and we snoozed for a few hours.  Last night and today, she's been up and down, comfortable at last.

This was my small victory, the answer to my prayers of hope and healing--for me and for her.  So often we go for the big "touchdown," as it were, ignoring the tiniest moments that, knit together, bring us grace and true joy.

Here she is, our small victory (for now), on the bed in question.  Does this look like a cat that almost died from severe liver disease a week ago? We so pray that we have more time with this beautiful fighter:

[CamilleP]

Sammycat, those were not small victories, those were huge triumphs!  Frankie looks very much improved, her eyes are clear and her face is "open", for want of a better word, she does not look inwards, absorbed into her own physical misery, but outwards, watching her world.  I will keep praying for her, for you, and for all in the family of Schmoo who are fighting battles of any sort.

[KitTkat]

---

@Sammycat1 wrote:

Friday report:    @KitTkat it sounds like you have quite the menagerie there!  I'm having trouble taking care on seriously ill cat and one semi-healthy one and you're the director of an animal hospital by comparison! Well, not quite! Though it does seem that way sometimes! Fortunately, everyone is healthy right now. 

Here she is, our small victory (for now), on the bed in question.  Does this look like a cat that almost died from severe liver disease a week ago? We so pray that we have more time with this beautiful fighter:

Frankie, you are one beautiful girl. Listen to God's voice and respond to His touch, for God loves you and will help you get through this. 

 She sure is beautiful. Her eyes are bright and she looks healthy. I'll sure be praying for a good report on her liver tomorrow. 

And baby steps are good. You wouldn't want to jump to the end of the journey and miss out on all the ways God has blessed you to get there. Without those tiny steps, the victory wouldn't be as sweet. Lots of love and prayers!

---