the delphic expanse

So, I'm likely to be talking a lot about my new Chihuahua, Morganza - as wel as my number one boy, Max, also a Chihuahua. So, I thought I'd start a pet talk thread!

Anyway, I discovered something about little Morganza today. She is trained for puppy pads - being that she's 4.5 pounds - that's basically how's she's going to go. This is fine, and I've ordered some eco-friendly ones from In the Company of Dogs.

However, she apparently thinks she can pee on anything left on the floor that is blue or white. I learned this when she peed on my favorite jeans, which were on the floor.

Lesson learned. Morganza is going to be very good for me - as far as forcing me to keep my dirty laundry off the floor!

I sincerely hope you don't have any blue or white throw rugs or carpeting, Honeybee!

Thankfully, I don't! That would have been a big problem.

Elvis has started eating cat litter.

Ouch! Did you switch brands when you moved? Poor Elvis, that can't be good for him.

Sometimes animals eating things they normally don't means they have some kind of deficiency in their diet. Maybe Elvis needs some vitamins or something? A vet might be able to tell you.

We were just at the vet today, actually. In fact we go once a week, which is actually down from three times a week.

Elvis is 17 1/2 years old...so, in short, he's got a really bad case of "old." He's in renal failure, which is the biggest things that nails geriatric cats. He's an on-again-off-again diabetic. He's anemic. And there are signs of pancreatitis.

But, for a cat that old, with these issues, he's actually quite...healthy, for lack of a better word. His eyes are clear, his heart is strong, lungs are good, coat's good, he's cuddly, he runs and plays (as much as he ever did, any way LOL). So yeah, he's got issues, and any number of things can be causing the eating litter thing.

I told the vet about it today and she was shocked. It's so un-catlike. They're normally so finicky and fastidious--if you put a cat's dish even too close to the litter some won't use the box because felines do NOT like to eat too close to where they potty--let alone eat the potty itself.

We've always used a variety of litters; I have my preferred brands but sometimes I have to be more budget conscious so if I'm short on cash we get whatever's cheap and on sale.

The vet had no idea why Elvis would do this. He tries to eat his food, but when I put it down for him, he eats a little, then looks at me like he wants something else...so in general, this is telling me he doesn't feel good, and whatever he's eating isn't getting it, so he's seeking sustenance elsewhere. Our doctor is calling an internal medicine vet to see if *they've* ever heard of such a thing and if they know what we do about it, but in the meantime she's had me switch to Yesterday's News litter, made out of recycled paper, to see if that'll get him to stop eating it, and if it doesn't, hopefully there's less risk of it causing him more problems.

*shakes head* Elvis...

Okay, here's a picture of Morganza by herself.

And here's one with her and Max, but it's not great because she's in the foreground and you can't tell that he's double her size. But, it's hard to get a picture of them together because they are always moving.

Cute!!!!!

Okay Honeybee, I'm diabetic and I assure you, that just caused my sugar to spike. Could they be any cuter? Morganza is colored up just like my childhood pet Scooter, so I already have a built in soft spot for her.