RANDOM CAT THINGS

Just wanted to share some random cat stuff today. You know how most cats just love boxes? Well, Goldie is one of those cats. If you put a box out, she's in it whether she fits in it or not. Here she is in a box that some Christmas gifts came in. It's a perfect fit. The minute it was empty she claimed it as hers and has spent a lot of time in it. Did you know that cats are like children? Well they are! When one has something the others want it, too, even if they never wanted it before. And that's what happened to this poor box.

Well, here's what happens when you get two cats in a one cat box. Katie just had to get in the box with her momma and it just couldn't hold both of them. I think Goldie is giving her a good talking to in this picture. Even though the box is a bit damaged now, everyone is still very interested in sitting in it.

MAX UPDATE: Max continues to improve every day. He's up to about 10 lbs. now, tho' I haven't weighed him in a couple of days. He's even getting a bit of a belly! Some recent blood work showed his potassium to be low so the doc has him taking this potassium gel twice a day. He doesn't seem to mind it a whole bunch. I also have him on some special Vitamin B12 called methyl 12 for a bit of neuropathy in his hind legs. This version of B12 is supposed to be absorbed better and it seems to be working. I'm even taking a bit of it myself as it can't really hurt. Max is such a trouper about taking all his meds and stuff. We don't have to go back for another check-up til mid February!

MAX'S PROGRESS

I thought it was time to update everyone on Max's progress. And there has been a lot of progress. We are still working on getting his blood glucose levels down, but, otherwise, Max has been doing very well. I took this picture of Max just a couple of days ago. Doesn't he look handsome? We are still waiting on the hair in the shaved areas to grow back completely so he doesn't look quite so lumpy, but he's beginning to loose the bony look.


Max has gained some weight finally. He's up to 8.2 lbs from a low of 6.9 lbs a couple of months ago. And he's maintaining that weight. I use the Wii Fit to weigh him. He has his own Mii and everything. It makes it sooo easy to keep track of his weight. I just weigh myself first and then the two of us together. We won't talk about my weight!! lol

Max's blood glucose levels are still over 300 at 4U of insulin twice daily, but that is lower than when we started. He's been allowing me to check his glucose levels and give him his insulin shot twice a day with no problems whatsoever. He gets in my lap, I prick his ear and use the glucometer. Then he gets his insulin shot and we are done.

Max is venturing out of his room now and making friends. His bestest buddy right now is Oliver. They make a funny pair as Oliver outweighs Max by a good 10 lbs! But Oliver is very gentle with Max and Max thinks Oliver is just great.

Max goes back for a check-up on the 12th and I expect a good report on him. I'll give y'all an update after his appointment. Thanks again for all the prayers and good wishes for Max's recovery. He's come a long, long way and it was worth every penny.

BABY CLOTHES PILLOW COVERS

Here are the two travel pillow covers I made to match the last two baby clothes quilts. For the front I just made two four-patch blocks and framed them with the same fabrics I used in the quilts. For the blue/green one I used the green for the framing and then the blue for the back.

blue/green front

blue/green back

For the pink one I used the backing fabric for the framing and made the back from some of the flannel receiving blanket my client asked me to use in both quilts.

pink front


pink back

The great thing about these pillow covers is that they are removeable and washable! It was totally my client's idea and I think they will look so cute with the quilts.

PINK BABY CLOTHES QUILT

I finished the second baby clothes quilt for my great client. This one is predominately pink and I just love it. The framing and the backing are both in a beautiful rose pink with tiny dots in pink, green and cream.

front

butterfly appliques

love!

I also just finished two travel pillow covers to match this pink quilt and the previous blue/green one. I'll put those pics in the next blog.

DRUG COST SKYROCKETS

I don't know if I've mentioned it before, but my cat, Buddy, has glaucoma in both eyes. Along with two types of eye drops, he takes the human medicine methazolomide twice a day. I fill his prescription at a regular pharmacy and have for several years now. I would get 100 pills for around $35 - not too bad for something that helps Buddy. A couple of weeks ago I went to refill Buddy's prescription and the charge was $129!!! Of course I brought it to the attention of the pharmacist that this must be a mistake. After some research she told me that there had been two companies making the drug, but one had stopped making it recently. The other company has taken this opportunity to nearly quadruple the charge for this very commonly used medicine.

The pharmacist told me I should check the pharmacies at the "big box" stores as their pharmacies don't mark up the meds as much as other pharmacies. I called around and the cheapest I could find the medicine was $110. Luckily I checked with Buddy's eye doctor's office and they still has some of the methazolomide at the old price and I was able to pick up another bottle of 100. That will carry me to February. Then what? I don't know.

You may have noticed that I haven't mentioned drug company names. That's because I'm still not sure which company it is that has raised their prices so precipitously. Sandoz made the one that Buddy has been taking and I'm assuming that's the company that has ceased making it. It was a generic and I guess they just weren't making enough money off of it.

I will be continuing my research and when I find out the name of the drug company that has raised the price, I'll be sure to put it here on the blog. I will also be contacting the company about this issue. It's mostly older folks who take this drug, the least able in our society of absorbing additional costs like this. Even if you have insurance, your cost will go up. And if you don't . . .

NEW BABY CLOTHES QUILT

I just finished another baby clothes quilt and I think it's the best one yet! Of course I feel that way about just about every project. My client and I had to compromise on the backing color and I think it turned out great. My client wanted green as it's the recipient's favorite color, but I thought blue would be better as most of the fabrics were in or had some shade of blue. So we compromised by using both and I just love it!!!

One of my favorite things about making these quilts is making appliques out of some of the embroidery on these clothes. I also try to transfer any cute little pockets, too. So much fun!

Here are some pictures of the quilt. And, of course, it's even better in person!

front

Love the dinosaur!!

Pockets and puppies

Back

I'm now working on one more quilt for this wonderful client and this one is for a girl with lovely shades of pink. I'm hoping to get it finished by the end of the weekend and will post pics as soon as I can.

MAX UPDATE II

Sorry I've been so long with another update, but life has been crazier than usual. I had several urgent projects to get done and chose to get them out of the way. Now that they are finished, I can, hopefully, get back to normal.

First of all, Max is doing great. We had a not eating issue about a week and a half ago, but that's been resolved with some assisted eating for a day or two and a further realization that Max does not like change. I put down a bigger water bowl and he quit drinking water. Same with the food bowl. Crazy cat!!!

Max is still taking his insulin well and tolerates the twice daily ear pricks to check his glucose levels. They are still higher than I would like, but are gradually coming down. I expect another dosage increase when we go back for another check-up this coming week.

I need to get a video clip of Max fussing at me. His voice is soo squeaky like a haunted house door. And he's so loving. He's actually becoming a lap cat of sorts, though his body is almost too long for my lap.

I've received a ton of cat print fabrics from my quilting buddies and hope to have some made up into quilts and stuff soon. They will be offered for sale to try to raise some money to pay Max's considerable vet bills. What great friends I have!! Y'all know who you are!!!

I'll be back with some more pics and, maybe, a video clip, shortly.