[misc] Santana

We had to say goodbye to Santana on Sunday evening. Dollar brought dinner up to Santana's room and she had a very large stroke that paralyzed her body. Her first big stroke was March 2019 and while she recovered to be almost 100%, we knew her time with us was going to be limited. We are thankful that she stayed with us an extra year to give us more love and kisses and nuzzles and attitude. 

This is the last photo I took of her, from April 2.

My after-work routine was to go into her room and get into bed to work on a NYT Crossword puzzle on my iPad. She would climb on top of me and purr while I filled out clues. I miss that so much now.

This is the earliest photo I have of her, from 2011:

She was the neighbor's cat (as was Murderface) but started coming around for reliable food and shelter. She'd be left out all winter long- I'd hear her crying at their door across the street. They would open up a can of wet food and just put the can outside for her. You can see she's so dirty in the picture- her white toes are gray and you can barely see the white streak on her nose.

I just remember saying, "When we move, we're taking her and Murderface." We kept the name Santana (which is what the neighbors called her- it just stuck) but she was Santana Banana or Nanny Bananny to us. 

We moved to a brand new house and gave her her own room:

We realized now that she must have thought it was a dream. Taken off the street and brought to a new house where she had her own safe space and food in real dishes and treats and unconditional patience and love. Okay, maybe she's tried our patience. Those early days featured lots scratched faces and hands.

She got toys:

But then we brought home Penny:

She never got along with the other cats but sometimes I'd catch a rare picture of the three of them together:

I like seeing old pictures of how chonky she got:

She helped me with all the quilts I've made:

And some of my knitting projects:

I'll miss my sleeping buddy. She got into the habit of sleeping right next to my pillow:

It was easy to turn my head and give her pets/kisses in the middle of the night. She'd start purring and I'd close my eyes and go back to sleep. She really got to trust us that we'd never hurt her and I'm so thankful all the scratching and hissing stopped. Sometimes she'd get grumpy and hit us, but she stopped using nails. 

I'm sorry she won't have one more summer of sleeping in a open window, so warm in the sun:

We miss her greatly:

[misc] Santana

The old girl had a falling incident so we've moved her back to the spare room. It's good- we keep a space heater going (when we're home) and it get so nice and toasty in there. She can sprawl out on the bed to sleep:

She had been huddled up on a little cat bed next to the radiator downstairs, constantly cold. It's so nice to see her sleeping, totally stretched out and relaxed. It's good to keep the other cats away from her, too. Although Penny does like to come in because it's nice and hot in the room.

Santana's doing okay- not eating as much but drinking a lot and going to the bathroom fine. She's happy and purring. Sleeping a lot. 

[misc] Santana Tuesday

Santana had a stroke about a week ago. I woke up at 5:30 am and she was kind of falling down the bed-side steps. I turned the light on and she was walking bow-legged and unevenly. She had a stroke last May, which was much worse. I went to the guest room and set it up (or broke it down) the same way we did last time: take apart the bed frame, set aside the box spring, put the mattress on the floor and cover the floor with blankets and pillows. Bring in a litterbox, space heater, water and food dishes. 

I was rushing because I had to fly to DC that morning. I felt bad leaving but Dollar would take good care of her and we had been through it before. Santana just needs food, rest and not be in danger of falling. In the end, I was only away for a couple nights.

It's been a week and she's doing much better. We're keeping the room warm and I'm sleeping on the mattress with her at night. She seems more confused than last time. She has come out of the room a few times (we're keeping the door closed when we're not with her) but generally wants to stay in there. She'll come out when she's ready.

[misc] Santana Update

Santana had her stroke in early April. It's been about a month and a half and she's back to normal:

Completely back to normal. She's still on meds- a quarter of a baby aspirin in her breakfast and some liquid antibiotics (for her bad teeth). But it's offset with lots of treats and kisses. She sleeps by my head every night. She hassles me in the kitchen- wanting handouts (which she usually gets because she needs to gain weight). She's my best good girl. Don't tell Penny.

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T-minus 3 days until my vacation starts. I'm trying not to mentally check out of work already- I have so much to do. The blog will be quiet for a week and a half (I'm travelling for work immediately after) but I'm going to be Instagramming the crap out of my days off. It's going to be all food and gardening and crafting. 

[misc] Santana Monday

Santana had a stroke 8 days ago. She's much better now- at home, living in her own private studio apartment (the spare room).

I woke up last Sunday morning to her tumbling off the bed and down the three step stairs we have next to the bed. She wasn't walking right- her hind legs weren't functioning normally. This was at about 6 am and I called the emergency number for the vet. We brought her down and the vet had good news- Santana has feelings in her hind legs. But she likely has a blood clot in her brain. We got prescriptions for her (blood pressure, blood thinner, baby aspirin) and brought her home. 

She fell a few more times at home- she wanted to move quickly but her hind legs weren't responding as normal. I went the spare room- broken down the bed frame, removed the box spring and put the mattress directly on the floor. And covered the rest of the floor with pillows and blankets. I got a space heater, set up a food station and a litterbox area. The plan is to keep her in the room- where she can be unsupervised and wouldn't hurt herself from a fall.

Here she on the second night after the stroke:

I think her left eye is off- not really looking in the same direction as her right. She was confused- maybe about her body not acting right and probably wondering why the room looked different and why she was being kept there.

To top it off, it was an incredibly busy week at work- our teaching season has started and I leave the house at 6:15 am and return at 7 pm. When I got home, I just went to Santana's room to hang out with her. I've been sleeping in there since, as well. Her room is the warmest and comfiest in the house now. But she needs company and I want to see her improvement.

Days go by, she getting better and better:

Since the very first night, she was able to get into the litterbox, use it and get out without falling. We're having a tough time pilling her. She's getting stronger and fighting back more. I need to consider that I want her to be happy and relaxed- not terrified of having a pill poked down her throat every time I walk in the room- especially if she has to be on this medicine the rest of her life. But we also want her to eat her medicine. We're trying to find the wet food or liquid or treat that she will eat ALL OF with a pill ground up in it.

All these pictures are of her laying down but she is walking well. We've let her out of the room a few times- she goes down the stairs just fine, eats some food from the other cats' bowls, wanders around but eventually goes back up to her room- and I shut the door. She naps, mostly. It's a safe space- when she came out on her own the first time, Murderface hissed at her and Penny hit her. So she has to have her own place where she's safe from the stress of being around the other cats.

Santana Banana is 16 years old. Lost all her canine teeth. Has renal disease (and is on medicine for that, as well). Now this stroke. I'm glad she has bounced back but we are starting to think about what's best for her in terms of quality of life and happiness. She's still happy- she purrs and licks/kisses me. She's playing a bit. She still has all her functions. We're not at the point where we have to make any hard decisions- and I seriously hope we're still years away from that- but this whole experience has been a wake up call.

[misc] Santana Monday

Santana went to the vet on Saturday morning:

She did well- had blood drawn, received an exam and rabies shot. She's losing weight and is only 6.5 lbs now, so we're trying a week of steroid treats to increase her appetite (it's working so far). She's just about 16-years-old.

Penny has her appt this coming Saturday. It will definitely take both of us to bring her down since she screams in car the entire trip.

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Was able to get my tire patched Saturday afternoon. So relieved.

Sunday we had a family birthday lunch in Norwich. After, we stopped by my mom's to pick up kimchi- and marinated short ribs. Looking forward to braising those for dinner tonight!!!

Worked some more on my Starfall sweater (2nd sleeve almost done). Made progress on the Rumplestiltskin shawl at my car appointment. Did a round of crochet on my Sophie's Universe afghan. Here's my crochet nest in the craft room:

I've got it all set up just so- the laptop to follow along with the pattern digitally (it's very thorough). My phone and charger- and a Bluetooth speaker to listen to podcasts. Chai tea, hand lotion, a basket of yarn nearby... pillows, heated cat mats (the cats use this couch the most) and an extra knit blanket. Ugh, once I get settled into this spot, it's hard to get back out.

Rather than crocheting a lot, though, I spent hours on Sunday just trying to free up space on my laptop. It's a 120 GB hard drive but I only had a little more than 1GB free. It was the iPhoto library taking up tons of space (of course). I bought a 2TB backup external hard drive a while ago and was able to move the whole library over- and delete it from my laptop... freeing up 90GB of space. Omg. Then it was running update after update after update. I really should use my Macbook more.

[cooking] Valentine's Day

Got all the cats to agree to Valentine's Day pictures.

Murderface:

Santana:

Penny:

Dinner was pizza (with turkey pepperoni because we eat sooooo healthy):

And dessert- heart shaped brownie with whipped cream and red glitter:

I had to stop by King Arthur Flour for a few things earlier in the week and couldn't resister the edible glitter. Now I need to glitter all the foods since I only used .0001 grams last night.

[misc] Santana Monday

Brought Santana to the vet on Saturday morning for her annual exam, shots, blood work.

She handles it pretty well. We're bringing Penny down this coming Saturday, which is definitely a two person job. Penny does not travel well.

Had quite a productive weekend. Brought my quilt stuff up to Fairlee to be finished. Cooked some good foods. Watched a lot of Olympics. Did house chores. Started a hat for the Ravellenic Games.

[misc] TGIF

Cat grass brings all the cats to the kitchen:

So happy it's Friday! (This week has been brutal.) Dropping my quilt off after work! Heading home to watch the Olympics! Going to cuddle with the cats and couch surf! 

[misc] MF and Santana Tuesday

Murderface, asleep in the sun on the craft room couch (I love it when he keeps me company in the craft room):

Santana, last night, eager for treats:

[misc] Santana Monday

Santana is so needy for attention on the weekends:

Had a good weekend- made even better with a extra hour on Sunday (I always forget). Got a lot of knitting done. Working on an angora cabled hat now (while we watch Stranger Things Season 2)- and then will move on to a series of five natural-colored aran watch caps (all different patterns) for Dollar's band members. The band is called WOOL, so it seems fitting ;)

[misc] Kitty Wednesday

A collage of the cats from this past weekend:

Busy at work- prepping for Hurricane Irma. I probably won't have to go back down to DC next week and will be able to support from home. Which is good- I'm going to Hmart with my mom on Sat, Dollar and I are going to the VT Mac and Cheese Challenge at the Harpoon Brewery on Sunday. I'm taking next Thurs/Fri off for the Fair.

Tonight is the first regular season Pats game! So excite! Pizza is on the menu at home but I don't know if I should put a Patriots logo on it... or a certain clown face. Hm...

[misc] Kitty Friday

Some recent pictures of the cats:

Murderface:

Santana:

Penny:

Penny had her annual vet visit last weekend. Everything's fine, apart from tartar buildup. It looks like we're going to have to spend $$$ for a dental visit for her.

TGIF. Looking forward to a three day weekend. Got supplies to cook some nice stuff (rack of lamb! roast beef! homemade cubano sandwiches!). Going to take the snowshoes out for a spin in all this nice, new snow. Finish up the handspun baby sweater and maybe the funfetti shawl. And start something new? Or go back to the Sophie's Universe afghan like I keep saying I will? Clean the house? Make a King Cake to bring in to work on Tue? Hm. All this planning makes me want to take a nap.

[misc] Kitty Wednesday

All three cats on the couch last night:



Murderface is on the sheepskin I got at the VT Sheep and Wool Festival this past weekend. All three cats love it; it's warm and soft and squishy and the best thing ever to knead.

I finally finished my mittens last night- need to close the gaps around the thumb join and sew in ends.

[misc] KitNipBox

I ended a couple of my monthly subscriptions and signed up for a new one: KitNipBox. Dollar and I were becoming progressively dissatisfied with our LootCrate monthly boxes- so I ended that. I also had a subscription to Audible and after months of accumulating credits, I've downloaded all the unabridged Song of Ice and Fire books, as well as a couple other titles. I need to catch up on all those books before I start that subscription again.

I ordered a KitNipBox and it arrived less than a week later. I put it on the bed where Murderface was and went to round up the rest of the cats. I came back and Murderface had already claimed it:



Penny's in the background, patiently waiting until the box is open before making her move.

In the box:



6 toys, one of which was pole with fish at the end of the string. All different types and high quality. A bag of freeze-dried chicken treats and a sample bag of dry food. And, of course, the box:



This was the $30 box and we were happy with it. Dollar was like, "I don't know if they need ALL these new toys every month." And he's right. Last night I took out the cats' toy basket and sprinkled, like, 20 toys in front of each cat on the floor. And they played with them like they'd never seen them before. I downgraded our KitNipBox subscription to the smaller, $20/month delivery. We'll see how next month goes and whether or not to keep the subscription going.

P.S. Santana wasn't interested in the initial unboxing; she just wanted the treats. She wasn't into the toys... until 4am in the morning. That's when she decided it was time to play with the noisiest toys, up and down the hall.

[misc] Santana Monday

Santana, trying to sleep through the hot weather:



What a horrifically hot, humid weekend. We finally got some much-needed rain but it didn't cool anything off. It's the kind of weather that makes you want to wash your face every 20 minutes and if you do anything for longer than 3 minutes, you start sweating. Autumn can't come soon enough.

I finished a couple knitting projects and started a new one. Not sure I'll get all my Ravellenic projects done. In fact, I'm sure I won't. But I'll try.

[misc] Murderface Monday

Had a nice weekend. Mostly stayed home and puttered around.

Murderface:



He knows I'm going to move/scootch him back so I can get back into bed.

Santana, on the pet stairs up to the bed, desperately wanting some attention:



Penny, sleeping downstairs on the couch:



Still working on my Freia Freya shawl. Gotta get my projects ready to start the Ravellenic Games this Friday night. I put my flatwave antenna up in the window yesterday but all we're getting are PBS stations. I was able to get reception for NBC for the Sochi Olympics. I'll keep checking this week and maybe try the antenna in a different location.