I Used To Hate Valentine's Day

It's really not cool to like Valentine's Day. You're supposed to be either ambivalent about it or hate the holiday outright. I used to hate it, too. It was a day of unfulfilled promises, a day of basking in other people's real or perceived happiness, of substituting chocolate for happiness and diamonds for love.

But, you know, life has some strange turns. I'm okay with Valentine's Day now. Not that I think that Tom will present me with a 14 karat diamond, or that we'll go out to a fancy dinner, or that he'll give me my engagement ring. I'm okay with Valentine's Day because we have so few days that are simply about love. Whether it's romantic love, or friendship, or the love between family members, there are never enough days to celebrate that. If we need a cheesy Hallmark holiday to remind us to take a few moments to say "I love you," then so be it.

Granted, I'm not single. I know that it hurts to be single on this day of love and cupids and mushy commercials. I know that it sucks, and I hope that you've taken the time to make a voodoo doll of someone/something that you hate and are wounding it with lollipop sticks and drowning it in conversation hearts. But I also hope that you know that if you are friends with me, you're loved.

So, I'm preparing for a great evening with Tom--we'll be working together at the co-op, actually. We'll have dinner at home, and play with our cats. I'll enjoy the tulips that he gave me yesterday, and I hope that he will like the present that I got him. And you know what? It will be great.

May you all have a good Valentine's Day. I love you all.

Hooray! Sparta's Back!

 

Sparta seems well on the way to making a full recovery. She slept with us last night (it's been awhile since I'd had the pleasure of a purring cat on my head all night) and she's eating with vigor. Tomorrow, we'll try giving her some food without the appetite stimulant, and see how that goes. So, hooray! Sparta's back!

Cross Your Fingers for Sparta

 

Sparta seems to be doing better.

She's eating more (still with the help of the Cyproheptadine), she's cuddly, she's more interested in things. She's stopped being a poo volcano and is currently sitting behind me, watching me type. So, it seems as though we might be reaching the end of the forest.

Donations of catnip and money can be sent to our mailing address. :)

Poor Sparta. She's had a bad run of luck latley.

She was neutured a few weeks ago (since she's TG, we've called it her sexual reassignment surgery). She was terrified of the car ride, and Tom rode all the way to Colchester with his hand behind him, nuzzling Sparta's face. She got through the surgery like a champ, and seemed to recover in the appropriate amount of time.

Awhile after that, though, Sparta lost interest in food. Before all of this, she would meow like crazy--often geting up on her back legs and pawing at the air in front of her--while we were fixing her food. She would then proceed to eat all of her food and try to steal Moo's food. But when she lost interest in food, that stopped. We tried soy milk in the food (which she loves), tuna, chicken broth...nothing helped.

Then she started to vomit--a lot. We got her to the vet, and discovered that she probably had a blockage in her intestine--like a string or some stuffing from a toy. We were to give her laxative, and wait for it to pass. They also gave her some fluids and an appetite stimulant.

We brought her home, and discovered the wonderful world of cat laxatives. Man, she hated that stuff! She fliked it around and off of herself like she was possessed. I'm still fiinding little Polluck-splatters of it around the house.

We continued with that treatment for a day or so, until she got diarreah so bad that she couldn't leave the bathroom (rather, she could, but we wouldn't let her). It was so sad. Her front was covered in laxative, her rear was covered in poo, and the middle was all skinny...

So, we brought her back to the vet. They gave her a bath (thank god) and some more fluids. They also discontinued the laxative, and put her on a special diet. In addition, they prescribed an appetite stimulant, and a round of de-worming. She seems to be eating a little better, but she's still tired and weak.

I'll keep you all posted on the progress of the world's cutest (short-haired) kitty.