Greetings!
This was an interesting sky one afternoon
We've had clouds and sun, fall chill in the goose-honking air, wind and calm, with a couple of gorgeous fall days around 70 degrees. Ahhh!
****
Well, today...it's about time to talk about Miss Karma.
She may enjoy watching the sparrows and grouse...
...and appear deceptively calm...but she does not take change well. She started licking/pulling all the fur off her belly back when I started tearing the only home she had ever known apart (packing for the move). She's always been an over-groomer under stress, but it has never stopped and we've been here over a year. Her self-mutilation has become an excessive habit...has actually gotten worse these past few months. :(
****
I've been dealing with her scratching her ears till the fur is off and she bleeds. And she doesn't even have claws!
I have tried aloe vera on her ears and tummy...anti-tich spray and cream...but they didn't help. I got "calming" treats...which she doesn't like much and rarely will eat. I have "calming" spray that I have been misting her cloth collar with every morning. That seemed to help her sleep more soundly, but she still groomed and groomed while she was awake.
Meanwhiile she bleeds...from belly...
...and ears. *sigh*
Leaves blood spots all over her cat beds, my bed...
...and the pillow I have to use when I'm in my chair when she wants to come up for a cuddle. (Hurts when she steps on me--fibro.)
So this month I bit the bullet and ordered her a cone collar.
****
Saturday morning the torture began with cat resignation.
I was acutally shocked that she didn't totally freak out.
She was baffled...and had trouble navigating...
...because she'd get "stuck" on furniture. She'd move her head or walk into something and just freeze there till I rescued her--LOL!
Her first trip to the litter box was quite an ordeal. (If she thought she was stressed before, eh?)
She couldn't get into the litter box because she kept getting "stuck" on the edges of the opening. So I had to show her how to move her head to guide her in. Then she couldn't get back out--LOL!
****
She can't jump up on the furniture--or won't. She tried and almost crushed her windpipe and that was the end of that.
So I have a kind of handicapped cat at present.
She even walked into the snow shovel and got stuck-- ROFL!
Luckily, Miss Karma has always liked hard pillows.
She seems rather sad...but I am shocked at how well she is taking this on the whole. I expected a total melt-down, to be honest.
She has had a lot of trouble eating.
So she hasn't been eating much at all...so this morning I took the cone off while she ate morning treats and she was very happy. Not happy when I put it right back on again after she was done.
Even her patio door time...
...is a little strange.
Leah came over last night for craft night. Stamped return addresses on our Christmas envelopes and then she continued working on her Christmas gift tags.
Got all the gluing done!
Letting them dry well because the next step is cutting holes in each one so that she can string ribbon through them--and then they're done!
Here's what the backsides look like.
So, almost finished--tada!
****
Since we had the bleed through with the Archival ink pads I wanted to try a couple other brands and ordered a Versafine black and a Memento black. The Versafine (pigment ink) had already arrived so we did some test printing...one of each single stamped and one stamped twice.
And already you can see they are shadowing through the card stock.
Maybe they always have and I never noticed? I find that hard to believe...but not impossible. I have been known to miss a LOT bigger things--LOL! I'll be testing the Memento that arrived this afternoon (dye ink)...and probably some other ink pads I already have. Now I am just plain curious. Maybe they all do this?
****
I'm not sure how long I will keep the cone on Karma.
I've been taking it off for her to eat her canned food treats. (Did again while I was writing this...and she seemed to know she'd be trapped again soon so made a quick trip to the commode, too.)
Thank goodness she's eleven and sleeps a lot, anyways. Poor thing.
I read online (when I was snooping around about this issue) that calicos are notorious for not accepting change well. That's an understatement, eh?! I hope to keep her from self-mutilation long enough for her wounds to heal up and hopefully that might break this terrible habit. ??? But who knows.
****
On brighter notes...
It came to me to switch the bird feeder direction so that possibly the wind wouldn't catch the roof of it and whip it about as much. So far so good! Much calmer out there!! But it hasn't been terribly windy, either. Anyways, the stabilizing project is temporarily on hold.
And I got these "animations" from Leah.
Ian mountain climbing...
...and tree climbing.
****
Thursday morning my apartment is one of the randomly chosen apartments for an inspection by the State Auditor--accompanied by Federal Housing personnel (Navare)! So I will be able to report the kitchen flooring...over Navare's head, so to speak. Interesting!! (I'll also find out if I am in any trouble for all the things we've installed on the walls--LOL!)
****
Anyways, it's already dark out. Karma had her dinner and I will now go have mine. Hard to get a lot done with a semi-handicapped cat in the house--LOL! I sure hope this works! Send some calming enegy or say a little prayer for Karma. Have a great week! :) :)
****
"If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant; if we did not sometimes taste of adversity, prosperity would not be so welcome."
Anne Bradstreet
23 comments:
hoping she'll manage for a bit longer to help her heal up.
Oh no not the cone of shame. I do hope it helps her to heal up. I wonder if she doesn't have a grain allergy. I am certain she is very sad :(
As I was reading about the problem Karma is having when eating, I was going to suggest taking "the cone of shame" off while she eats. But then you said you tried doing that and it helped. I hope she heals quickly and that her licking/scratching issue goes away.
I hope Karma gets better soon--& that you stay that way!!
I've read that cats scratch like that when they are stressed. So I'm surprised she isn't more so. Usually they see it as punishment.
I've used dye ink, pigment ink, and solvent ink. It all bleeds through, no matter what color card stock you use. I believe that's why people matte their stamped images.
Ian looks cute. He's a doll. Hope your week goes well.
I don't see what will change when you finally remove the cone. It seems harsh to me, but then you have to do something. I am devastated over the election and feel like maybe a Cone of Shame on my own head might help. Keep me from looking right or left. :-(
Poor Karma.
Imagine doing a day with a cone on your own head? :)
Poor Karma!
It's both funny and yet not at all funny.
I hope this does the trick.
X
Poor kitty :( I hope she heals quickly and adjusts to her new home. It's hard when you can't explain to them that it's for their own good.
So sorry to hear about Karma. It reminds me of all the things I tried to stopped biting my nails as a teenager. But, of course, you can't even explain to Karma why it's a bad habit. Poor thing. Take care my Fargo friend.
Poor Karma. :( I hope she heals quickly, too. For your sake as well as hers.
Cute animations of Ian. He sure is growing up fast!
I hope the cone collar works! Poor Karma.
I hope the cone works. Our cat Max was missing fur on his back and I started to worry so we took him to the vet. They said it was from repetitive rubbing on something. Turns out hubby had been brushing him too much. He just loves being brushed, but it turns out too much of a good thing, really is bad for you.
I hope Karma is fixed up soon. I love the sky photo at the beginning.
Oh dear, poor old Karma girl. And Rita too, of course, for having to watch her darling suffer.
Could there be an allergy involved? I can’t imagine that settling in should take a whole year. Something is wrong, is there an official way to find out? A vet , maybe?
I hope the problem can be solved.
Sorry about the election, it’s quite awful to see how the rest of the world has reacted. Nobody is happy.
Aww. Poor Karma! It's probably frustrating for Karma to wear the collar, but it might break her of the habit of hurting herself.
Poor Karma. I think I might agree with Friko, above, that a vet might be able to help Karma. I guess she couldn't be bored? No, not really if it has come on since the move. I always look for forums which sometimes give good advice. I don't think I have ever seen any cat health forums but there must be some, I guess....
Poor Karma...try apple cider vinegar as it works wonders for soothing redness and skin irritation. You may remember the terrible time I had with Jack and skin allergies...tried everything, then a neighbour told me about apple cider vinegar and now, any time I notice him scratching or see some redness on his skin, I spray the area with apple cider vinegar and the redness and irritation goes within a day. It may help soothe the redness and damage Karma has done to herself. I'm glad she accepted wearing the cone and hopefully it will help.
The Christmas tags look lovely!
Cute animations of Ian! :)
I hope all goes/went well at the inspection.
Love and hugs xo
oh sorry for your darling cat hope she gets bake soon dear .
Ian is so cute and adorable and i really enjoyed watching his so cute climbing.
Poor sweet Karma! I could send Izzy over to regale her with the tale of how resistance to change nearly ended her life! Ha! Oh, but the cone of shame...I'm glad she's taking it well. Izzy had one very early in life, so she feels Karma's pain. Best of luck my friend!
xo
-andi
I hope Karma is feeling a bit better now.
I hope all is well with you and Karma, Rita, it seems a long time since you posted. Maybe it's that computer playing up again!
just checking in with you! Happy Thanksgiving! :)
How are you and Karma doing?
Post a Comment