The Kaesea Report

11.29.11 : arrrrrrgh!

2011-11-29T21:01:00.000-08:00

11.28.11 : turkey fiend, continued

2011-11-28T21:01:00.000-08:00

We've created a monster. Since Thanksgiving, the only thing Kaesea has been interested in eating is... turkey!

Seriously. He's been meowing by the refrigerator: "I demand turkey. Now."

And when we put it out for him, it disappears. In seconds.

11.27.11 : Fluffypaw McSleepypants

2011-11-27T21:01:00.000-08:00

Okay... I know every cat owner in the world says this, but... I think my cat is the Cutest. Cat. Ever.

That is all.

11.26.11 : content

2011-11-26T21:01:00.000-08:00

11.24.11 : turkey fiend

2011-11-24T17:42:00.000-08:00

Amazingly, we have made it through one more year with this to be thankful for: Kaesea.

One of our Thanksgiving traditions is to recall that long-ago Thanksgiving when Jenny asked me if Kaesea liked turkey. Every year on this day, I repeat what I said then: "Kaesea is a cat and turkey is a bird."

In other words: Yes, Kaesea likes turkey.
In fact, he loves it.

11.23.11 : snugglepuss

2011-11-23T21:01:00.000-08:00

11.20.11 : hungry, hungry kitten

2011-11-20T21:01:00.000-08:00

Terrible photo quality here, but Kaesea was moving too fast for me to capture him -- Bill put some shrimp in his hand and Kaesea went nuts for it, climbing up into his hand and lapping up every last morsel. (Note the right paw is up on Bill's wrist... the left paw ended up planted in Bill's palm for leverage.)

It was hilarious, although, again, this photo doesn't quite capture the pure mania. The cat likes shrimp.

11.19.11 : green-eyed fluff

2011-11-19T21:01:00.000-08:00

11.15.11 : i love my brush

2011-11-15T20:22:00.000-08:00

Tonight, Kaesea fell asleep on the couch, cuddling with his brush:

Besides me, that brush is his favorite thing in the world.

Sometimes, I think he even loves the brush more than he loves me. ;)

My apologies for the cliffhanger

2011-11-15T19:58:00.000-08:00

I'm kind of reluctant to write about good things happening at Chez Kaesea because, without fail, as soon as I say, "Things are going better," Kaesea takes a nose-dive.

Conversely, it takes me awhile to write about bad things, too... cause I just don't want to admit when things are bad.

But it's been 2 weeks since I wrote the last update and things are... well... somewhat better (she says cautiously) (don't tell Kaesea I wrote this...)

After taking the antibiotics, Kaesea's poops have been far more firm, so perhaps he was doing the "edge case" thing after all -- it wasn't the cancer, but it was some sort of infection? Maybe? But then I was away this past weekend and there were a lot of "less than solid" poops in my absence (per Bill's report -- such a devoted husband and father). So I guess our dear old man doesn't like change. Soo-prise, soo-prise!

So, we're better than we were with the last update -- more eating and more solid pooping. His weight remains the same -- disturbingly low -- but his energy has been pretty good.

I'm now calling Kaesea the Holy Grail Cat, because he says "I'm not dead yet!"

11.14.11 : i demand... everything.

2011-11-14T21:01:00.000-08:00

11.11.11 : rumpled

2011-11-11T21:01:00.000-08:00

11.07.11 : approval

2011-11-07T21:01:00.000-08:00

I made Kaesea a new little quilt... I think he likes it!

11.06.11 : puuurrrrr

2011-11-06T21:01:00.000-08:00

That's Bill, scratching Kaesea behind the ears. Can you just hear the purring through your screen right now?

11.05.11 : not messin' around

2011-11-05T21:01:00.000-07:00

11.04.11 : pinky

2011-11-04T21:01:00.000-07:00

11.03.11 : contented kitten

2011-11-03T21:01:00.000-07:00

11.02.11 : fluffy mitts

2011-11-02T21:01:00.000-07:00

Update: Not great

2011-11-01T23:48:00.000-07:00

I feel bad about posting these "Debbie Downer" updates, but... it is a blog about a terminally ill cat, so that's just the way this is going to go, right?

Thank you, as always, to everyone who has sympathized with our downs and cheered for our ups. At some point, things will end on a bad note and we'll all cry about this together. For now, Kaesea is still hanging in, but we might want to edge that tissue box just a leeeettle bit closer to the computer in preparation.

Kaesea went to the vet last week for his regular checkup and... the news was not great. He weighs 7 lbs, which is 2.25 lbs down from his last checkup 3 months ago. (Which, up until that point, was his lowest weight.) I knew that he had lost weight, but seeing that number on the scale was a real blow. That is a lot of weight loss. We called him "skinny" at 9 lbs, but 7 lbs is a whole new world -- I can feel bones that I never even knew were there. He is scrawny.

However, until a few days ago, he was still in good spirits. When we saw his doctor last Thursday, she still seemed pretty positive about the situation -- he was playing, purring, eating (although not great) and generally seemed to be doing okay, soo... just hang in there.

After that... ugh. Kaesea has experienced an increasing state of "funk" since that visit.

When I woke up this morning, I really thought it was all over. He has seemed generally miserable for the past two days and... I don't want him to be miserable. So this morning I said to myself, "If the misery continues for one more day, we're calling it quits." But when I came home from work today, he was purring and kneading the bed with his paws like, "What? Who's sick?" Sooo... of course, Kaesea the Miracle Cat comes through yet again. Right now, he is sleeping in a state of total relaxation on Bill's desk chair. I took this photo of him earlier tonight -- what you cannot see there is the purring and contented bed-kneading.

The doctor did give us an appetite stimulant, but I am conflicted about giving this to him. Pretty much everyone says that when the cat stops eating entirely, he's ready to go. Sooo... if he wants to stop eating, who am I to get in the way? However, even without the appetite stimulant, he was still eating something, so we have given it to him a few times since his visit. We did not give it to him yesterday or today and he's still eating pretty well, so that's some good news.

There is also a very slight "edge case" that the recent bout of increased diarrhea is due to a bacterial infection (not just the cancer), so we are giving him a very mild antibiotic right now. Here's hoping that Kaesea, who does love to be an "edge case," embraces that idea.

I know this is terminal and there's only one way for this to end, but I'm grateful for each additional day we get with this cat and, as long as he seems happy to be here, I'm happy to keep him. We've had a few rough days, and a slightly better day today. Who knows what tomorrow will bring? I'll keep you posted. Thanks again for tuning in.

11.01.11 : majestic

2011-11-01T23:47:00.000-07:00

10.27.11 : green eyes

2011-10-27T21:01:00.000-07:00

Today was a trip to the vet. Even behind bars, Kaesea remains gorgeous...

10.26.11 : sleepy kitten

2011-10-26T21:01:00.000-07:00

10.25.11 : velvet forehead

2011-10-24T21:01:00.001-07:00

10.24.11 : pppttthhhhttt!

2011-10-24T21:01:00.000-07:00

10.21.11 : chin ups

2011-10-21T21:01:00.000-07:00

10.20.11 : tiny lion

2011-10-20T21:01:00.000-07:00

10.18.11 : hello up there!

2011-10-18T21:01:00.000-07:00

I never tire of this shot. This week, in jack-o-lantern orange!

10.17.11 : all mine

2011-10-17T21:01:00.000-07:00

I took off my clothes to get into the shower this morning, turned around and... look who was owning them:

My embarrassment at posting a photo of my discarded underthings on the internet is overridden by the hilarity of Kaesea's instant ownership of anything that lands on the floor.

Seriously... it took him about 15 seconds to come into the bathroom and get into this pose. I love this cat.

10.16.11 : the ballerina

2011-10-16T21:01:00.000-07:00

10.14.11 : mr. cuddles

2011-10-14T21:01:00.000-07:00

10.13.11 : yes. all of this is mine.

2011-10-13T21:01:00.000-07:00

10.12.11 : senior portrait

2011-10-12T21:01:00.000-07:00

10.09.11 : grumpy fluff

2011-10-09T21:01:00.000-07:00

10.08.11 : camo cat

2011-10-08T21:01:00.000-07:00

I am making a new little quilt for Kaesea. I chose the colors to match our new duvet cover, but when I arranged the fabric strips, Kaesea showed me that they actually match his fur:

Because, of course, everything revolves around him.

10.07.11 : c is for cat

2011-10-07T21:01:00.000-07:00

10.06.11 : fluffball

2011-10-06T23:23:00.000-07:00

10.05.11 : i always feel like...

2011-10-05T21:01:00.000-07:00

...some kitty's watching me...

10.03.11 : it's not going to fill itself...

2011-10-03T21:01:00.000-07:00

10.02.11 : le fluff

2011-10-02T21:01:00.000-07:00

09.30.11 : tuckered out

2011-09-30T23:09:00.000-07:00

Me too, Kaesea. Me too.

A Better Day

2011-09-30T23:00:00.000-07:00

After posting yesterday, things have been looking up around Chez Kaesea. I am crossing my fingers that this post this will not cause the reverse, of course.

Kaesea has been eating well since yesterday... mostly canned tuna, by his [insistent!] request. Yesterday night, he had a very firm bowel movement. Today's was... less firm, but a typical Kaesea "deposit." And no vomiting. So, yay!

He's been fluffy, noisy, and perky all day, so it looks as though he has weathered yet another storm. If these storms don't kill him, they might kill me, but we're keeping it together for now.

Thank you again for the well wishes. This cat is strong and the power of positive thinking makes him stronger yet. So we thank you for that. So. Much.

A Rough Week

2011-09-29T14:00:00.000-07:00

Despite all of the cute photos, Kaesea has been having a rough time this week.

[My usual disclaimer: This is a blog about a cat with intestinal cancer, so I will be talking about bodily fluids. Sorry.]

On Monday, he vomited up his food, which he never does (usually, it's a hairball or a bit of bile) and he also had several bouts of pure liquid diarrhea (the worst kind -- no nutrient absorption at all). We gave him IV fluids and thought he might be coming around at the end of the day, but there was more liqui-poo throughout the day on Tuesday (although no more vomiting). Again, we gave him more IV fluids and by the end of the day yesterday (Wednesday), he was starting to perk up.

He's been doing okay today (Thursday), although I can tell he's lost some weight in the past week, which is amazing because I thought he was a furry bag of bones before. Now he really is!

Throughout the week, he has continued to groom himself (you can see the fluff here) and he's been eating, although not much. Today, he has eaten far more (including polishing off quite a bit of tuna!) and is getting vocal again (after complaining about how much he's been meowing in the last few months, I missed it when it was gone for the past few days) so perhaps he'll come around.

I know that he's old and he's dying of cancer and this is what to expect. But still, every damned time this happens, I worry and fret and think, "How can I fix this? What can I do?" But the reality is that I cannot fix this. I can support him and comfort him and I can pray. And that is what I am doing. And maybe this time he'll get better. Or maybe he won't.

Ugh. Maybe he won't. Whenever I think that, I immediately think, "But I'm not ready!" But the truth is, I will never be ready. And yet, the end will come. Ready or not.

We are so SO lucky to have gotten the extra 2+ years that we have gotten with Kaesea since he got sick in April 2009. So lucky. But still... I'm not ready.

Hopefully he isn't, either.

I'll keep you posted.
Thanks for being here.

09.27.11 : sea of fluff

2011-09-27T21:01:00.000-07:00

09.26.11 : caught!

2011-09-26T21:01:00.000-07:00

As I have mentioned before, when Kaesea sees the camera come out, he almost always flops over immediately.

Today, I snuck into the room to catch him sitting up. Right after I snapped this, he immediately flopped down.

I love the look on his face: "Damn you! You are only to take photos of me when I am reclining, looking my most regal!"

09.24.11 : mr. hide

2011-09-24T21:01:00.000-07:00

Kaesea loves, loves, loves a hidey hole. Especially a new one.

Bill took one of the drawers out of our dresser today and Kaesea hopped up in there in about 2 seconds flat.

09:22:11 : mine now.

2011-09-22T21:01:00.000-07:00

I left my knitting alone for a moment and came back to find that Kaesea had claimed it for himself:

09.21.11 : what is up there?!

2011-09-21T21:01:00.000-07:00

09.19.11 : sun worshipper

2011-09-19T21:01:00.000-07:00

09.16.11 : more couch? yes, please!

2011-09-16T21:01:00.000-07:00

09.10.11 : couch po-cat-to(es)

2011-09-10T21:01:00.000-07:00

09.08.11 : no photos, please!

2011-09-08T21:01:00.000-07:00

09.06.11 : watchcat

2011-09-06T21:01:00.000-07:00

I was away for a week. Since I got home, Kaesea has been glued to my side almost every minute of every day.

This shot was taken from the dinner table -- here he is, at my feet, pressed against the leg of the table. He never hangs out right there, but he's been doing it for the past 2 days whenever I am sitting at the table.

Love this cat.

08.26.11 : 'nipped

2011-08-26T21:01:00.000-07:00

One of Kaesea's favorite activities these days is to bat around one of these purple fluffy balls -- which are, of course, covered in catnip -- all over the bed.

I caught one split of second of downtime here.

08.22.11 : box lover

2011-08-22T21:01:00.000-07:00

Where there is a box, there's Kaesea, ready to jump into it:

I love the face here: "Who, me?"

08.21.11 : contentment

2011-08-21T21:01:00.000-07:00

08.20.11 : Rumple Fluffyfur

2011-08-20T21:01:00.000-07:00

08.19.11 : itchin' for a scritchin'

2011-08-19T21:01:00.000-07:00

08.18.11 : now!

2011-08-18T21:01:00.000-07:00

08.17.11 : nighttime

2011-08-17T21:01:00.000-07:00

08.16.11 : i love you, tail

2011-08-16T21:01:00.000-07:00

08.15.11 : mr. whiskers

2011-08-15T21:01:00.000-07:00

08.14.11 : sun worshipper

2011-08-14T21:01:00.000-07:00

08.13.11 : brown-furred cat

2011-08-13T21:01:00.000-07:00

Over the past year, the fur on Kaesea's back, which used to be dark grey, has turned to a sort of reddish-brown.

His doctor says that a lot of older cats lose pigment in their fur and this is what's happening. It's sort of... odd.

I am rarely able to capture it in photos (perhaps he's embarrassed?) but I finally got this one that really shows it.

Most people go grey when they get old. Kaesea? He was grey and is now going brunette. Figures.

08.12.11 : the librarian

2011-08-12T21:01:00.000-07:00

Kaesea is always full of fresh wackiness. Today, I came into the office to find him browsing the books... from the bookshelf.

He was obviously afraid his secret librarian identity would be found out, because he moved to jump down as soon as I got out the camera. This is the shot I got:

08.11.11 : fluffy buns

2011-08-11T21:01:00.000-07:00

I'm amazed I was able to get this shot -- Kaesea knows when the camera comes out and always puts his best face (meaning: his actual face) forward.

Guess he was distracted by the Big Dog Obstacle Course (consisting of only Ben, but that takes full Kaesea concentration).

08.10.11 : daddy's boy, redux

2011-08-10T21:01:00.000-07:00

A few days ago, Kaesea draped his tail across Bill's legs.

Now he's moved to putting his back paws on Bill:

This is as close to being a "lap cat" as Kaesea gets!

08.09.11 : deep thoughts

2011-08-09T21:01:00.000-07:00

08.07.11 : daddy's boy

2011-08-07T22:52:00.000-07:00

Kaesea has never been a "lap cat." The way you know Kaesea reeeeeally likes you is if he flops down right next to you.

Paws touching you? You are totally in.

Tonight, I witnessed something absolutely remarkable:

Difficult to see, but that is Kaesea's tail draped over Bill's leg! For a long time!

I told Bill, "You should be honored. That is a bold statement of love and trust right there." Bill said, "Oh, he's just not paying attention to where it is." A cat? Not paying attention to his tail?! Oh, he knows where it is. He knows exactly where it is.

And it's on Bill.

This is Kaesea's version of giving Bill a big box of chocolates with a giant ribbon wrapped around it and tied in a bow. He luuuuurvs Bill.

08.06.11 : Fluffy McCuteness

2011-08-07T21:01:00.000-07:00

This pose? Kills me.
Ka-yute!!

08.02.11 : i. see. you.

2011-08-02T21:01:00.000-07:00

08.01.11 : standing tall (and fluffy)

2011-08-01T21:01:00.000-07:00

07.25.11 : outtake

2011-07-25T21:01:00.000-07:00

The photos have been a bit light this month because I have been traveling quite a bit. One of my trips was to New York.

When I came back, I tried to take a photo of some of the beautiful wool that I bought at Purl Soho.

Kaesea had other ideas.

As he always does.

07.23.11 : pure bliss

2011-07-23T21:01:00.000-07:00

07.17.11 : king of the castle

2011-07-17T21:01:00.000-07:00

07.16.11 : catnip crazy

2011-07-16T21:01:00.000-07:00

Kaesea's grandma sent him some home-grown catnip. I rubbed it all over a toy and gave him the toy. These photos say it all:

I am laughing as I post this. That first crazy-eyed photo and the second "Oh, yeaaaah..." blissed out one. Perfect!

07.15.11 : cheeeeese!

2011-07-15T21:01:00.000-07:00

07.14.11 : sniff!

2011-07-14T21:01:00.000-07:00

Bill was outside making ribs on the grill and I caught this series of photos of Kaesea sniffing madly from inside the house:

HA!

07.11.11 : need. opposable. thumbs.

2011-07-11T21:01:00.000-07:00

Sometimes, Kaesea comes into the kitchen and just stares at the fridge. He knows that's where the ahi tuna comes from. Of course.

07.08.11 : stalker

2011-07-08T21:01:00.000-07:00

Bought a new toy for Kaesea this week and he loves it. It's a typical "fishing pole" style toy, but the string (almost invisible) and the mouse (moves like a big bug) are really well designed. Kaesea is entranced.

07.07.11 : winky

2011-07-07T21:01:00.000-07:00

07.06.11 : the pose

2011-07-06T21:01:00.000-07:00

07.01.11 : the face

2011-07-01T21:01:00.000-07:00

06.30.11 : mom love

2011-06-30T21:01:00.001-07:00

Kaesea is not a lap cat, so this is a notable event: the object that you see him "hugging" in the photo? It's my arm.

Crappy photo, as it was late and all I had was the phone, but... awww.

(And... Yes, I wear leopard print pajamas.)

Meow, meow, meow, meow, MEOOOOWWWW!

2011-06-29T00:58:00.000-07:00

Kaesea has always been somewhat "vocal" at night. But for the past month, he has taken this to an entire new level. Seriously, cat?

For sleepy time encouragement, we've got Feliway plugged in in the bedroom, plenty of calming treats, and of course, the Brush. And to wear him out, we've been playing with him, waking him up from daytime catnaps, and going out for trips in the yard -- whatever we can think of.

To no avail.

We call this the "cat alarm" because it sounds like a siren: "MeeeOWWWWMeeeOWWWMeeeOWWW."

And over the past few days, we've also been treated to daytime serenades. When I took him in to see his vet a couple of weeks ago, she speculated that he's bored since losing Biscuit. So maybe we need to throw some kittens into this mix!

Yeah. Cause that'll help us sleep.

Kaesea, I am posting this photo for inspiration -- I know you can do it, because I just took this a few days ago.

Now let's just trying doing this... at night.

(Would it help if we read you Go the F**k to Sleep?)

06.26.11 : the kitten is in

2011-06-26T21:01:00.000-07:00

Kaesea sez: "Yesss? How can I help you?"

06.25.11 : mr. whiskers

2011-06-25T21:01:00.000-07:00

06.24.11 : beggar

2011-06-24T21:01:00.000-07:00

Of all of the hundreds of photos I have taken of Kaesea over the past few years, I have very few of him standing up on all four paws. This is because, if he does happen to be standing up when I pull out the camera, he immediately flops over on his side.

Apparently, what I needed to be doing is distracting him with ahi tuna.

06.23.11 : the fluffiest of fluffy paws

2011-06-23T21:01:00.000-07:00

06.22.11 : sly guy

2011-06-22T21:01:00.000-07:00

He knows something you don't.
Just so you know.

06.21.11 : you give to us

2011-06-21T21:01:00.000-07:00

I cannot remember now what Bill was chopping up in the kitchen (Ahi? Steak?) but clearly these two were both quite interested in it.

06.20.11 : jungle kitten

2011-06-20T21:01:00.000-07:00

In the jungle, the mighty jungle...

The kitten sniffs tonight.

Let Kaesea outside again this evening. This time, in the raised beds where the tomato plants are growing. I thought his nose was going to fall off with all of the sniffing -- he loved it!

When I finally brought him back inside, I had to laugh -- he smelled like tomato plants!

A-wimoweh, a-wimoweh, A-wimoweh, a-wimoweh...

06.18.11 : lurker

2011-06-18T21:01:00.000-07:00

06.15.11 : the blur

2011-06-15T21:01:00.000-07:00

For the first time in his life, I took Kaesea outside today and let him check out the grass in the backyard. As I've mentioned before, Kaesea is extremely curious, so this was heaven for him!

As the blur in the photo indicates, he started trotting around right away. Our yard is fenced in and, at this point, I'm faster than Kaesea, so I'm not worried about him getting out. But he loooooved just sniffing around.

This photo also shows an interesting phenomenon that's been going on over the past few months -- the fur on Kaesea's back is getting lighter. He used to be dark grey all over. Now his back fur is almost a medium brown. Apparently cat's fur can lose pigment when they get older. And his is. It's funny to see -- in this photo, he barely looks like himself. Where's my grey cat?

06.13.11 : books make good beds

2011-06-13T21:01:00.000-07:00

Kaesea looked like he might be interested in reading my book tonight:

Turns out he had other plans for it:

06.12.11 : staking his claim

2011-06-12T21:01:00.000-07:00

Kaesea sez: "This here is my bag. Mine."

06.11.11 : goofy brother

2011-06-11T21:01:00.001-07:00

This photo just cracks me up. Ben seems to be laughing and hamming it up while Kaesea just stares at him. Hahaha.

06.10.11 : crossed paws

2011-06-11T21:01:00.000-07:00

06.09.11 : how you doin?

2011-06-09T21:01:00.000-07:00

06.08.11 : stretch

2011-06-08T21:01:00.000-07:00

06.07.11 : hiding from the paparazzi

2011-06-07T21:01:00.000-07:00