h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

now there is who does not looks guilty, but becomes supermodel

sweet

Yes, also a prime example of why I cannot even have plants in my house, let alone cut flowers!

Goddam cats!

az

wada you mean as soon as flower are in house ther cut to bits,i had cheese plant once till i had twelve kittens play hide and seek ,shame ten years i had it for.

Just wondering how Lua is doing?

hi Caerwynn, thanks for asking.

She seems much the same as always. Eating well and she doesn't seem to be in any pain or discomfort at all. Though the icky tumour does look quite nasty. Yesterday morning one of my students saw Lua lying half on her back on her favourite chair and his face went all contorted into 'yuck-mode' and he said - WHAT is that???

I guess I've got used to how ugly the tumour looks on Lua's flabby bald pink belly (bless her!) and so far I just don't have the heart to put the collar on her, even though Maria gave me one free of charge the other day.

I reckon Lua wouldn't understand *why* she had to have this horrible thing around her neck and, really, when I'm at home I do keep her from licking the wound. Some days it looks like it is almost completely healed over and then Lua will have another go at it when I'm not looking and it will start bleeding again. Though, as Maria says, it's very clean (I swab it down every morning with hydrogen peroxide) and not infected.

Am I being stupid in not wanting Lua to suffer at all? Which is why I don't want to put the collar on her. She wouldn't know why I was doing this to her. And if the wound is kept very clean, etc, perhaps it isn't necessary?

She is sitting on a chair next to me as I am typing this. Really, she has become almost 'clingy' these days. Though it feels more like she is just more comfy always being able to sit next to me wherever I am.

Even Maria the vet admits Lua is a bit of a heatbreaking sight, the way she waddles around like a very old lady (which she is!) with her old broken hip and her floppy belly. But even Maria has said that Lua has a very beautiful face. And it cracks her up how Lua will waddle into the room and go 'ack ack'.

It's so weird, Caerwynn, because sometimes I forget that she is ill and it seems like she is always going to be here. More than one person (doctor friends) have told me that this big tumour might actually be benign. But I don't want to hope beyond hope, if you know what I mean. I am just enjoying Lua every day as much as I can because I really don't know how many days are left.

And here I am rambling on about poor old Lua. Again, thank you for asking. And anyhow, it's my Lua journal so I guess I can ramble on as much as I ever want or need to about her.

I got an email awhile ago from my friend Mike who works for the UN and is now in the Sudan. When I told him about Lua he was truly concerned (he was once a flatmate of mine, so he knows all the cats) and he said to me - 'Shawn, I have never known anyone who loved their cats as much as you do' - and he didn't mean it like I was silly to do so. He lived with me for awhile and really saw that, heck, I *do* love these pointy-eared angels so much. And he came to love them too.

I keep telling Lua she is world famous now, that she is being talked about on the internet! And she looks at me and goes 'ack'.

It will be her fourteenth birthday on July 10th and my hootoo friend Blues Shark and his girlfriend will be here to celebrate it with me. Back in February I wasn't sure if this was going to be possible but now it looks like it will be. Blues always calls Lua 'ol cranky paws' but he also loves her.

Anyhow, enough rambing. Lua is fine. So far.

Thanks again for asking.

az

I just thought of something.

My friend's dog had surgery on his leg some time ago. She got some sort of ointment which, while completely inert, tasted really foul. The dog quickly learned not to lick the spot.

The only problem I forsee is that with cats spending so much time grooming, she might associate the horible taste with grooming in general, not the spot.

I know that lemon skin rubbed on furniture will keep them off, but I am sure that would really sting on an open wound. I am just wondering if there is something less ointmenty and still inert that could be put on or around the spot, that wouldn't sting.

I'll look into it.

Try Aloe Vera. first, it has healing benefits, and it tastes terrible. However, Benjamin went nuts when he saw mine. I don't know if he actually tasted any. Having tasted some, myself, I know it tastes horrible. It is free if you have a plant, and is also available at health and drugstores in a liquid. Worth a try.

This sounds like an excellent one. Check with the vet: http://ighawaii.com/naturally/ayuvet.html#ayuich
Soothes and conditions skin
Support skin healing
Relieves itching
Bitter taste prevents pets from licking the area covered
Recommended for use in Horses, Dogs and Cats

Pure Care Herbal Skin Therapy Spray . The bitter taste discourages licking, chewing and fur-biting to allow the skin to heal.
: http://b-naturals.com/product_info.php?products_id=123&PHPSESSID=bdab4d27c285ea102ada9c7d762e41e4


Bitter apple: http://www.petco.com/product_info.asp?sku=3768532584

Excellent advice, Mudhooks - thanks!

I'll check with Maria on Tuesday and see what she suggests, but I think the aloe vera is a good option. Also, easy to find here.



az

I hope the aloe vera works, anything that saves poor Lua from wearing a collar.

Az, thanks for the update on how Lua is doing. Her need to be near you does show that she is aware that she isn't in the best of health, I think. But it is probably as much to reassure you as herself.

I am glad that she doesn't appear to be suffering apart from her sore tum, of course, but hopefully the aloe will help.

How are the other cats with her? Are they treating her just as normal?

I am just sorry I didn't think of it sooner.....

Are you *still* up, Mudhooks, or just up very early? Fancy a chat?

az

hi Caerwyn,

The other two are treating Lua the same as ever. Of course, this includes occasionally ganging up on her and chasing her around the flat, which *is* a bit of exercise I suppose but sometimes they play way too rough with her. And anyhow, she doesn't even want to be 'playing'.

Otherwise they mostly ignore her.

And of course they cannot gang up on her while she is sitting next to me.


az

Sound a tipical cat family,chances are though that Lua stuck ,just before the chase ,or used the look ,cats see the look from behind closed eyelids, as well as give it back.

logicus!

Lua is a very polite cat and would never stick her tongue out! No, it's just that 'the boys' sometimes get tired of play fighting with each other and then decide to pick on poor old Lua. They don't seem to realise that 1) she doesn't *want* to play and 2) she has physical problems with her dodgy hip and now the tumour that make 'playing' quite possibly painful.

I mean, you should see the two boys when they go at it! They attach themselves to each other tooth and claw and roll all over the floor, then break up, then a bit of tail-flicking before they both attack again head-on! It's quite brutal at times and Azar often gets the worst of it because he only has one usable front leg. Mind you, Azar will often start a fight, so he is just as much to blame.

Remember awhile back Lua actually dislocated her dodgy hip during an attack by Azar? She ended up painfully wobbling around for a couple of days before the hip finally went back into its socket (ouch!)

Meanwhile, Caerwynn, what is SWG?

az

Star Wars Galaxies, No2 son introduced me to the game and I play it online. In my biography in the game I'm plugging h2g2, so it's even stevens.

So the two boys haven't change their behaviour towards Lua? That sounds like a good thing.

When I last had two cats together, Fluffy (a beautiful long haired black girlie who was incredibly sweet natured) and Misty (a tortie who was a bit of a tomboy) they got on well. But Misty would start a fight from time to time by sitting on Fluffy's head!

Well, I still can't find this Phytogel stuff! I've tried ordering it from a pharmacy now, so I hope it comes in soon. Maria said this would be better than aloe vera as some animals will still lick aloe vera and it causes vomiting and dire rear.


Hey pheloxi, have you had that haircut yet?


az

no.ope...soon

love the spelling of dire rear az! Sums it up nicely (or not so nicely should I say!)

I recall reading one of the "real letters from parents" to teachers...

One of them was something along the lines of "Please excuse Sally. She had a case of dire rear."

Another said "I had to keep Billy off school yesterday because he had diarrhea through a hole in his shoe."