Computer
My new Lenovo Thinkpad arrived on Monday and I love love love love love it! Makes me wonder how I survived on a Dell for so long. The keypad alone on this baby makes it worth it. So easy to type. There are quite a few differences for me since this one came loaded with Vista, so I've been poking around learning this new OS and getting adjusted to a new hardware setup.
I ended up getting a bundle offered through the Penn State bookstore because when I priced the computer configured the same way, it was more by itself than the whole bundle together. Seeing as I'm no dummy, I've now got myself quite a few new playthings. Gotta love the student discount.
What a week with my furry friends. Isabel has been to the vet twice and Dunkin once. Isabel had a bad respiratory thing going on that left her doing this weird sneezing/dry heaving thing that was hard to listen to and actually woke her up several times a night. Poor pookie. She had to take antibiotics which led to five hilarious battles that had me chasing her around and trying to get her to swallow her pill which she repeatedly gagged back up. Heh heh. Neither of us suffered much, but it was quite funny. She eventually got wise to me and took off to hide as soon as I picked up the envelope her pills came in.
As the vet was checking her out she noticed Isabel needed to get several teeth pulled because of a degenerative gum condition called Resorptive Lesions. When they put her under for the surgery her mouth/throat/etc filled with saliva so fast they thought she was going to drown on the table so they intubated and woke her up. They told me later it was scary moment for them. So I had to take her back after the antibiotic had worked its magic and this time the extractions went fine but now the sneezing/dry heaving thing is coming back. Dang it. Poor little Belle Belle. She's going to have to go through the whole antibiotic thing AGAIN.
The other very bad news is that they did blood work and learned that Isabel is getting close to pre-diabetic. She eats the same food Dunkin does – the prescription food for his blockage issue. It's great for Dunkin but is making Izzy blow up like a balloon. The problem is I can't switch foods for fear of Dunkin getting blocked again but I can't keep things going like this because it's affecting Isabel's health. Catch-22, dang it!
This past week I've cut the amount of food they get by almost half in an effort to get them both to lose weight. Dunkin has a decent sized spare tire, so he can afford a weight loss plan too. Izzy lost one tenth of a pound last week which isn't much but it's something. I'm going to keep going like this to see if I can get her to lost 2-3 pounds and get into a healthy weight range without switching foods.
Dunkin went to the vet because he had a big swollen spot above one eye. It went away by itself, I figure it was just a bug bite, but I took him in just in case. He's fine, got a clean bill of health. Yippee!
As a result of all these medical situations in a row, I decided to transition the cats to being indoor-only now rather than wait until the move which has led to a lot of…
Cranky Nights
Zzzzz… Huh? Wha? Whoizzit? Ok, ok, I'm awake. Not that I want to be, mind you, but I suppose actually sleeping is a thing of the past for a while.
Between the stress of trying to sell the house, to stress about money, to stress about leaving JMU and my friends, to all the rest of the stress just in general in my life surrounding this incredibly gingantic change in life, I haven't been sleeping well anyway. But now I've got a couple of nocturnal animals who used to do all their noctural prowling outside, doing their nocturnal prowling inside. That, actually, is not that bad. The worst part is Isabel just won't give up on the cat door miraculously starting to work again. She sits in front of it and pokes and pokes and pokes and scratches and scratches and scratches just sure that one of those efforts will make the magic door open again.
So I barricaded the wall in front of the cat door hoping that "out of sight, out of mind" was true. Ummmmm… no. Now she pokes and pokes and pokes and scratches and scratches and scratches at all the stuff piled up. Sigh… For the past week I have been up several times a night trying to lure or distract her away from the door because she is so darn noisy and never stops! It goes on and on and on for 30-45 minute stretches until I finally get up. Last night I had an epiphany and remembered that I had trained her from scratching furniture and wood railings by putting double sided tape on the surfaces. She won't scratch it because she doesn't like the stickiness on her paws.
It seems to be working. I still had to get up three times to add more tape until I finally got it in the right spots, but once I did she only poked at it for a minute or two before stopping. Fingers crossed… Maybe I'll actually get to sleep all night tonight! Here's the barricaded door and tape boobytrap for your viewing pleasure. Ha ha
sbloggityfood 
Sorry the kitties have been having a hard time of it. I think moving is much more stressful than having a baby. I'm serious….childbirth, I can do that….not that hard compared to packing and moving.
Good luck and take care.
BTW….who woulddah thought….double sided tape….what a great idea !!!
Oh No! i hope the kitties health gets better very very soon!
*hug* Wow, you have been buuuusy! Good luck with the kittehs. I hope you can figure out something that works for all of them. And I hope Vista is working well for you. I'm hoping my laptop lasts until the next OS release, lol. Do you have a fingerprint reader on yours?
Awww, your kitties are so cute! They'll eventually get used to being indoors-only, especially after you move. All the trips to the vet suck, though – cats are a lot like kids, if there's something they can pick up … 😉