Feb 16 2016 - Goodbye Geprge.

We loved you. Now we will love the memories of you.

The Sun Is Back

George On His Heated Floor

Memorial Day! Time To Put Out The Annuals

George had another grand mal a month ago, but within a day was fully recovered. So, three seizures in one year but G seems 100% okay. He has been taking diazepam for a year now, 1/10th of a milligram once a day.

Applehead At The Vet

George had been sneezing. It had also been 30 months since his last dental. So he had an anesthetic in order to be examined and treated. He was x-rayed to check on any possible tumors as the cause of his seizures - negative. Blood work was done; results next week. All things considered he is not doing badly. His upper canines are "extruded" which might be connected with the sneezing. He has a URI and inflamed tonsils. So he had an injection of antibiotic for the URI and also antibiotic packing on the extruded teeth. His gums also needed cleaning. His canines are OK for now; in another year he will have another dental cleaning. The URI might be due to the roots of the canines growing into his sinuses.

It will take a while for him to recover but in a week or so his URI should be cleared up. It will likely return, but maybe not for a few months. He had fluids as well. He will be the stronger for having had this work. It has been almost 5 years since he was diagnosed with CRF and 1 year since the grand mal. Considering all that he is in great shape and has an excellent quality of life.

Petit Mal

George had a petit mal in early December. He recovered within a day and has been doing well since. It was similar to his grand mal in some respects. One moment he was resting next to me, the next moment he jumped down and ran off. In April when he had his grand mal he collapsed and convulsed violently for a minute. With the petit mal he ran into the bedroom and climbed into the bottom on a closet and curled up on some clothes; in response we just turned off all the lights and noise and let him be for a while. I gave him a double dose of diazepam that evening, and for the next 2 days. The next day he had little appetite and was lethargic. The following day he was back to normal.

I guess there is good news in this. There is a chance he has epilepsy. At any rate he has some neurological disorder which causes him to twitch and very mildly convulse fairly frequently all the time. The diazepam manages to keep his condition in check. He only has had two significant fits, one 9 months ago, the other a month ago. It is a relief that the grand mal was not due to a brain tumor; if it had been George would not be alive.

A side benefit of the diazepam is that it increases his appetite. George weighs about the same as he did a year ago, perhaps slightly more. George was diagnosed with chronic renal failure 5 years ago, and had only 25% kidney function at that time. Last Summer he had bloodwork which indicated levels of bad stuff had significantly increased in the 4 months since the previous bloodwork. In September he had a sinus infection which went away in a few days after an injection of antibiotics.

The joy is that 99% of the time George seems entirely normal. He is affectionate and playful. He eats well. He is not dehydrated.

On the other hand George has always been indisposed about visit to the vet. In the past 2 years that has escalated to where it is virtually impossible to take him to the vet. Fortunately, our vet is amenable to consulting over the phone and via email. I give George his diazepam in an ointment which I apply to his ear. He is very comfortable with this. I also have antibiotic which I can apply this way but I have yet to use it.

When I say that George is impossible at the vet, picture Linda Blair in the Exorcist, with fangs and claws. Beyond control. At home he is totally different, at least with me, most of the time, and to some extent with my wife. He has his boundaries.

Laundry Child Running Wild

Laundry Day

Summer's Almost Over

afternoon snooze

Bouncing Back

George had a grand mal seizure on April 23rd. It was one of the scariest minutes ever. Only seizure he ever had. One moment he was resting in front of me, then he jumped down, skidded across the floor, fell on his side and started thumping and shaking violently. After 30 seconds he went still for about 15 seconds, then got up and walked wobbly legged out of the room. I picked him up and put him on the bed. He settled down and rested in place, looking a bit disoriented.

The vet said to wait a couple of days and see if he had another. He did not. We did not take him in. George is really out of control when it comes to visiting the vet - almost impossible to handle so the vet and I agreed it would be better not to bring him in. Possibly he had a brain tumor, which would have been untreatable. Possibly it was epilepsy or a relatively benign neurological condition, which might be managed by anticonvulsants. A week later he went on diazepam and has been taking 1/10th of a milligram once a day. It is a cream which I put on my finger tip and apply to the inside of an ear so that it is absorbed transdermally. He has no problem with this.

Fortunately cats can tolerate long-term use of diazepam (dogs cannot). It has the beneficial side effect of increased appetite. We also notice now that George twitches less than he used to. Perhaps he has had a neurological disorder for some time. We have long noticed it but have been more concerned with the chronic renal failure since he was diagnosed with that disorder 4 years ago

George has his ups and downs but mostly he is up and he keeps bouncing back from the downs. Every so often he'll get lethargic and lose his appetite for a couple of days or more. We would take him to the vet but that would be traumatic for him. Somehow he bounces back. Starts eating again. Gets affectionate and playful. He's down to 10 pounds something from about 13-14 pounds 5 or 6 years ago but he has been maintaining 10 something pounds for a couple of years.

Toe Bean Confidential

A Couple Of Videos From June, 2013

From George Videos

From George Videos

Mission In The Kitchen

Derby Day Pick

An Alpha male gotta go with Alpha

Rain Day, Dream Away

Chilling In Walla Walla

Happy Hour

Summer Reading

Think I'll go with "Old Friend From Far Away" this afternoon. That and sangria.

Summer Lair