Teetering on the brink

daisy_1571

Re my earlier post - I meant the potential promise to yourself would be fulfilled when you are out this situation and have the energy - that could be next year, next decade or further away, nothing immediate 

Dxx

Humdinger1

@EatingBeans you are so impressive- but no one can be expert at everything these days; there's too much all and not enough time.  I think I remember hearing that the last time knowledge was small enough for one person to be able to do that was back in the Renaissance, hence Renaissance Man. You have not failed - on the contrary, you've been smart enough to know when to call on outside help. Loans not paid off is part of the business plan for banks etc.  Keep going love Humdinger xx 

EatingBeans

Thanks all. I may not have the energy to reply to each comment atm but I do read them all and really appreciate all the support. 

I am thoroughly shattered this morning as I really didn’t sleep well between nightmares and waking in the middle of the night feeling like my eyes and throat were so dry I had to go outside for some fresh air. Not sure what that was all about since I checked the monitoring for the house and the air was perfect. Just me then! 🤦‍♀️

I am pleased to report the Big Cat is still with us and is now toileting so his trip to the vet has been postponed. He is still drinking and peeing excessively, and his appetite isn’t what it used to be so I am pretty sure his kidneys are packing in, but he still seems happy and not in pain so for now he stays. At least with him downstairs he is back with dd1 and I can monitor him more closely. 

Money wise I still haven’t tackled my budget yet but since I got my child benefit money in today and it reminded me that I hadn’t changed the account that comes in to, I sorted that out for next month. Slowly but surely I am getting their one piece at a time. 

The biggest task today is picking dd2 up from college and then taking the dogs for a run. I haven’t the energy to keep them on a lead or walking and keeping a constant eye out for other people, so I’ve hired a field for the first time ever. Generally they are pretty good if they miss a walk or two but it’s been more than a couple now and they are clearly in need of a good blast. dd2 is coming with me so I just need to get them as far as the van and drive. I deliberately chose a site where you can park in the field itself so I can just open the door and let them go. Normally I would insist on some focused work before being off lead but needs must. At least this way they get to properly stretch their legs and I know I don’t need to worry about other people or dogs. I can potter behind and pick poo up and they can play with each other and dd2. 

For now though, I am off back to bed. 😴

EatingBeans

Dogs run, I think we are all ready for a snooze. I will definitely go back as it was so nice not to have to stress about anything and just sit and let the dogs charge around. They had a bench for the humans and lots of obstacles for the dogs, plus ball throwers, poo bags, massive fences and great hardstanding to park on. I always wondered why on earth people would pay to hire a field rather than go to a park but I can totally understand now! 

ellenvan

That's good for you and the dogs.
If it is something you can afford to do going forward it may be a worthwhile expense.
Maybe use survey or sales money.

EatingBeans

Survey and sales money seems like a great way to fund it, great idea! Honestly I would ordinarily think it a bit extravagant but when I am this ill and it is that, hire a dog walker or they don’t go out, it doesn’t feel that bad. Dog walkers are considerably more expensive so it seemed like a great middle ground. 

stymied

Our 16 year old cat got officially diagnosed with renal issues but not bad enough for medicine after much faffing about with blood tests and urine samples at the vet. She’s been on renal food for a year now and still drinks and pees a bit too much but is no longer desperately searching for water (no idea why none of her own three bowls/glasses are good enough and she would rather drink ours).

EatingBeans

Aw bless you @stymied I am sorry to here about your kitty. It’s hard isn’t it. I am glad your cat has stabilised again - long may it continue. 🤞

Given how Big cat really doesn’t cope with vet trips I guess you could say he’s already in palliative care mode. I am sure the second we took him to the vets they would want to do blood tests and urine samples again and I think the stress alone might tip him over the edge so drugs arn’t an option for him. I am working on reducing stress and trying to prevent dehydration. Unfortunately he is also sensitive to foods that even prescription diets tend to make him repeatedly sick, so I daren’t change the type of foods he eats ever again. After much trial and error he stabilised on Gourmet Purina pouches and Iams Hairball biscuits. My only leway is to increase the pouches and move away from biscuits but for that I need a compliant cat. His stomach is very picky! I’ve been adding a little water to his pouches to try and get more water in him and that seems to be working. Like your cat he is also very picky about what he drinks out of - one fountain he likes, the other he doesn’t, shallow bowls are a no-no but if I fill the dogs food bowl full of water he will down loads from that! 🤦‍♀️ They are lovely creatures but sometimes very difficult to understand! 

Sending hugs x

daisy_1571

I learnt (after years of cat owning) that cats don't like their water beside their food.  We moved water bowls away into other rooms and that definitely made them drink more.  They also like water bowls wider than their whiskers which might be why the dog bowl is popular. 

Dunno if the fountains are made of different things ?  or one has a bigger reservoir maybe so water is fresher for longer?  We had one dog who i think would starve rather than eat or drink out a metal bowl. We worked that one out very quickly as you can imagine.  Others haven't cared what they are served on. 

As you say, animals are lovely but odd things 😆 

EatingBeans

Yeah, we have bowls, food and litter as far away from each other as possible normally although Big Cat doesn’t seem to care about that. The dog food bowl is wide and stainless steel but the fountain he wont drink from is also stainless steel. His preference seems to be cold water, (filled no more than two hours from the tap), and drunk out of a plastic fountain which has had its spout taken off so rather than a fountain it just bubbles! 🤣 (Can you tell we have spent many days of our life trying to get this cat to drink!) 🤦‍♀️ Normally I don’t use the dog’s food bowl as a water bowl but since we moved rooms I needed an extra bowl and so I’ve been using it for the dogs. I think Big Cat likes it because the water is so regularly refilled so it hits the cold fresh from the tap mark more than the water fountains (The dogs eat 4 meals a day but let’s not go there as to why!)

Seriously, I was talking to dd2 about how much hard work all of our current animals are just yesterday. Years ago I had far more animals and every single one happily coexisted with everything else and lived long, happy lives seemingly without much effort. Now each one has a list of likes and dislikes, or heath issues that just make it all so much harder. Maybe it’s me. Perhaps I’ve just become more sensitive to it or maybe they are the same and I am just finding it harder to nip things in the bud early enough. I certainly know Little Dog missed out on lots that I would have usually done during her first year. 

Ah well, it is was it is. I guess I just need to work from where we are at. Can’t sort everything in a day.