ahhh...the luxuries of "summer"

today was unbridled cat chaos. i was convinced that my incredibly obese orange tabby (chicken biscuit) had diabetes. he seemed to be urinating more (or someone using the litterbox is) - and he urinated in his carrier on the way from kville to here - which is a mere 2 hours. i suspected he was PU/PD (polyuric/polydipsic = more peeing, more drinking). so i took him to my new workplace - although i haven't started yet - and drew blood. i thought - in my infinite wisdom that i would also take along archie, my other obese cat and shave him. our collective allergies have been acting up, so cat grooming of my 2 biggest shedders seemed like a good idea.

i started by drawing blood from biscuit, which went well. he was very calm and we obtained the blood rapidly. when we went to draw a cystocentesis (needle stick through the abdomen into the bladder) - it took FOUR of us and an ultrasound probe to hit his bladder. not because he was squirming or behaving badly, on the contrary, he was wonderfully still. it was just that his bladder was buried beneath 6 inches of abdominal fat. i tried, the tech tried, another intern tried, and then the internal medicine specialist finally got it. all of this only to find out that biscuit - despite his massive obesity - is the picture of health - at least blood and urine-wise.

on to the shaving. i started with archie - to let biscuit have a rest. i decided to use ketamine and valium in combo - which should give you a reliable 45 minute sedation period. not to be not to be!! archie came out of the ket/val haze rapidly - necessitating gassing him down with isoflurane. he didn't like that and much struggling ensued. i got so frustrated, i essentially gave up. it didn't help that i was using surgical clippers with no guard on the blade = a very, very precise, very CLOSE shave. archie looks like a blind barber with a dull chainsaw cut his hair. i'd post pictures but i can't find the camera battery charger - and truthfully, it's too damned embarrassing. i hosed him off and stuck him back in the carrier.

for biscuit, i tried a different tact - domitor, torb, and ketamine at 0.1mL each. it was the best kitty cocktail ever. he was totally out of it - and i could shave him without too much trouble. he looks infinitely more presentable than archie, although he still looks funny (thanks to the surgical blades). and i had to gas him a little at the end, but all in all - it was much smoother than the first shave. if i hadn't already given archie drugs and iso, i probably would have re-dosed him and tried to smooth out his rough hair job.

no more cat grooming for a while.

otherwise, i am loving this new house and my freedom. new houses always start out so pristinely clean. and the landlord did a beautiful job before we moved in - he painted everything, put up new (nice) curtain rod and curtains...the house looks phenomenal. and my days are so languid. i sleep until about 10:30 am, make lunch, read my book, study some veterinary medicine (today it was immunology - which i badly needed a refresher of - and immune-mediated hemolytic anemia), nap occasionally, fix something yummy for dinner, watch a movie with the husband (alternately - we play tekken tag on the playstation), and go to bed around 1:30am. i love it. it's like being a stay-at-home mom. you know - without the kids. or actual work. or actual responsibility. ok, really it's like being a kept woman. without the bonbons or soap operas.