Hanging out

Lutz, Florida

Nothing exciting going on here, unless you count taking care of a sick kitty.

Squeaky started on her Chemo (Leukeran) on Saturday.  I just found out this is not your normal chemo drugs, but a drug that suppresses the immune system.  It doesn’t seem right to me to suppress the immune system on an ill cat, but I guess this is the only option we have.  The good news is that it doesn’t have the horrible side effects that normal chemo does.

We have not been getting much sleep around here.  The medicine seemed to cause her to be restless.  I don’t know if it was restlessness, or nausea, or some kind of discomfort, but Saturday and Sunday night she was up and down all night long….as was I.

I spoke to the vet last night at length and gained some more understanding on what to expect and what I can do  to help her.  I hope today will be a better day.  I hope to be able to get her to eat more.

I am documenting her treatment on a separate blog I created, just as a way for me to remember what is happening, and what is working.   I have kept the blog private so that no one is subjected to the boring details, but if anyone out there is facing the same thing (or is just interested) let me know and I will allow anyone to view it.  It just documents our day and what happens when I give her a certain prescription.  Hopefully it will help me with her treatment. 

So….no fun around here.  Al is working doing his monthly pest control accounts.  We’re still hoping to stabilize Squeaky enough so that we can get over to Vero Beach, where the lobsters are waiting for us!  Lobster season just started and we heard they are plentiful this year.   Florida Lobsters are not like you get up in Maine.  You eat their tails, not their claws.

The following is an underwater picture of the front of a lobster.  They hide in crevices and you have to “tickle” then to get them to come out.

This is what that process looks like.    When you put your head down, your feet float up.

The next photo is what they look like, except they are usually backed into a hole.  When you grab for them they scoot back further into the hole and tease you.  They are very fast.

We picked up a new/used scuba tank the other day.  We have about 6 old tanks, but the dive shops won’t fill old tanks anymore because they are too old, and can explode under pressure.   We need to find one more tank and we think we’ll be back in business.  Al has checked our regulators (the part that takes the high pressure air from the tank and lowers the pressure so you can breath).    We don’t  plan on doing any deep diving, so they should be fine.   On the East coast (Atlantic) the water gets deeper much quicker, so we intend to take the kayaks out and dive from them.  (kayak diving).  My only concern is getting back into the kayak.  I guess I’ll have to practice close to shore.  I sure hope things will work out so that we can go.  We just want to stay close to our veterinarian for the time being.

I keep reading other blogs and seeing how much fun everyone is having.  We’re jealous!