Tag Archives: health

plz sir, we can haz sum more?

13 Tuesday Dec 2011

Posted by in animals & pets, cats, diet & nutrition, health & happiness

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It’s official. Since last week’s visit to Yolanda the vet Loki & Luna are now on a diet. Or better said, their food intake is now being strictly monitored so that they end up getting the required amount and nothing extra.

To my chagrin, I knew Yolanda was right when she pointed out the obvious – that Loki was way overweight at 7.1 kilos and that even little Lunita was getting a belly on her. Thing is, I do measure their food every day and they don’t get more than they need of their own stuff, but they hang around like vultures when Azar gets treats and scoff whatever he leaves behind. And yes, I am guilty of leaving out food for Azar. I didn’t think it was that much but when you think about it, a few extra biccys several times a day can really add up. Obviously. Duh.

So now Loki & Luna are being fed three times a day and when Azar is given snacks (really, an all-day activity) either Peter or I grab a piece of string and keep the other two occupied. This has two benefits – L & L don’t eat Azar’s food and they get some exercise chasing the string. And they don’t even seem to mind. I mean, they are hardly going hungry, and after just a few days Loki has stopped begging for food (an annoying habit that he picked up from Azar), plus they seem to know when real mealtimes are now and start hanging around their bowls then.

I’ve always been a bit envious of people who can just dish out the cat biscuits in the morning and that’s that. Though with Sunny and Azar I noticed that the times both Peter and I were away for a few days and a big whack of food was left out, they barely ate anything. If I did that when we were at home they’d binge eat themselves into a cat food coma. Cats, eh?

más malta

02 Friday Dec 2011

Posted by in animals & pets, cats, health & happiness, home

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So remember when I was waxing lyrically about malta and how using malta has made it possible for me to give Azar his daily kidney supplement pill (crushed up and smeared onto his paw) and how the other two end up wanting malta too? Usually I give Azar his spiked malta when he is quiety curled up somewhere, usually on my bed, and then lure the other two away to the “treat stand” so they’ll leave Azar alone. But yesterday all three of them got up there and Azar was clearly demanding a treat, so they all got their malta at once. Needed about three more hands…

malta

23 Wednesday Nov 2011

Posted by in animals & pets, cats, health & happiness

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Every day I thank my lucky stars for “malta”, or malt extract paste. Most people with cats know the benefits of giving the beasts a daily dose of malt paste, especially during shedding season, as this helps with the passing of hairballs. And most cats will happily lick a dollop off your finger as it’s like cat candy to them (though to me it’s more like the feline version of marmite).

The reason I am extra grateful for malta these days is because although Azar was pronounced as being in pretty good health for his age when I last took him to see Yolanda the vet, since then he has required a new daily routine involving a kidney supplement in pill form and a dose of a mild liquid oral laxative.

Administering the laxative is easy-peasy and I can even do it on my own, though it’s much easier when Nog is there to help. He will pick up Azar and make a big fuss over him, then bring him into the kitchen where I’ve prepared the syringe with 2mls of gloop, and I give it to Azar in two squirts with lots of kisses on the head in between. I am still amazed that he lets me do this, but I reckon he knows – like the time I had to force-feed him – that I am doing this for his own good.

But pilling? Fergetaboudit. I remember when Sunny was taking this same kidney supplement, which was crushed up into a spoonful of kitteh paté… he’d go crazy for it thinking it was a special treat. But Azar has always been canny about this sort of thing and can sniff out spiked food in a flash. Also, he’s never been a fan of wet cat food, always preferring his bikkys. So what to do? And then it occurred to me to try mixing the crushed pill into a dollop of malta, which is so stinky and gloopy that it would be sure to hide the taste and, once smeared onto an unsuspecting paw, there would be no option but to lick it off.

And I was right! Though I have had help. Because although Azar would never deign to be taken in by the spiked paté trick, he has chosen to go along with the malt thing. Why? Who knows. Perhaps because the other two make a dive for his smeared paw and I have to take them aside and give them their own malt treat, so Azar thinks it’s an even more special treat for him? Or perhaps because Azar knows I am trying to help him. And so he helps me do just that.

I’m not one to anthropomorphise the behaviour of my cats, but I like to give credit where credit is due, and I think Azar’s behaviour is – and has always been – much more intuitive than most humans I’ve met. Bless him. And bless malta.

biopsy results negative!

27 Tuesday Sep 2011

Posted by in cancer, health & happiness, hospitals

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It was four weeks ago today that I had the emergency op – the one  that turned out to be an abscess on one of my ovaries and not anything related to my colon as the head surgeon had previously thought. I was told at the time that they didn’t think there was any cancer, but as a precaution they’d taken biopsy samples and said the results would be ready in two weeks. So two weeks ago I sent a text message to Isabel and Ricardo (of my nuclear medicine Team) to ask if they could check the results and when I didn’t hear back I reckoned that no news was good news.

But in fact good news is good news.

This evening I was over at Agustín’s getting him to witness my passport application and a message came through from Isabel that simply said “no describe nada de tumor” … my biopsy results in a nutshell! Right after that I had to go and take photos for my friend/client Maria at her shop and I forgot to call Isabel back, so she called me about an hour later and went over the results in a bit more detail. But the bottom line is that I’m okay! And although I was pretty sure someone would have called me before now if they’d found cancer, it was still a huge relief to see those words and talk to Isabel.

So I called Nog on my way home and he met me for a Cold Beer and some toasted almonds to celebrate.  A good day. 🙂

5 kilos

09 Friday Sep 2011

Posted by in diet & nutrition, health & happiness

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This is a 5 kilo bag of potatoes. As of today I am no longer carrying this around with me everywhere I go.

Most of you will be aware of my struggle with losing weight over the years, especially after the cancer surgeries and chemo which really screwed up my metabolism. But after my recent bout of gastroenteritis followed by the emergency op I have dropped five kilos “without even trying”.

Yes, that last bit is meant to be facetious. And of course it’s just the tip of the iceberg because I still need to lose about four more bags of potatoes, but at least I seem to be heading in the right direction after years of being stuck at the same unhealthy weight.

This has actually inspired me to get super serious about getting fit as soon as I am recovered enough to go back to the gym. But the fact that I’ve lost these five kilos while basically sitting around on my butt since mid-August is also inspiring because it has made me realise how just a few small changes in my diet can make a huge difference. And these are changes that I know I can live with. Go me!