I picked up a set of postal scales to keep track of Linus's weight, he gets weighed once a week and, in true geek fashion, I have a spreadsheet keeping track of it.
His weight wobbles up and down but there was a distinct downward trend so he went back to the vets a couple of weeks earlier than planned.
On the vets scales he weighed the same as on my post scales which was good. Overall the vet wasn't too concerned with the weight loss as some is to be expected due to switching to a low protein diet. If it carries on through the rest of the year or suddenly starts to plummet then we will need to investigate further.
His blood values (creatinine and blood urea nitrogen - aka BUN) have both dropped a little which is good. So the plan is to continue the low protein diet, continue to monitor his weight and re-check his blood values in another 3 months time.
I will try and remember to take a photo of Linus sitting and looking regal in his waste paper bin on the scales.
Friday 27 April 2018
Saturday 10 February 2018
One Week of Kettle Bells
So after the aches of the tutorial died down I decided it was time to get on with it and start to attempt to do a the suggested kettle bell workout.
Well, the DVD has 3 workouts on it, a full body workout at about an hour. An express workout at about half an hour and then an 8 minute Abs programme. They suggest a timetable for beginners, intermediate and advanced with different workouts on different days and either one or two rest days.
Fortunately they do also say that the timetable is a guideline and you can adjust according to lifestyle and time. One week in and Iv'e managed 5 days out of 7 but the rest days were not the suggested ones or together. I've also managed to try all 3 workouts, usually I just have time for the express workout but have managed the full body workout once and also the 8 minutes of intense Abs exercises.
One week on and while I can tell I have been exercising it's more a warm glow with a slight stiffness in some muscles rather than the chronic pain you get after doing too much DIY or gardening in one day.
I have not instantly been transformed into a goddess or lost all the excess weight but I feel better in myself and enjoy the workouts. I still cannot keep up with the super-fit ladies in the DVD but I can keep up with them for longer now than I could a week ago.
One thing that is not covered in the DVD is how to follow the exercises when you have pets.
Hilda is convinced that I am going to throw the big orange ball for her and insists on standing or sitting close by ready for when I do let go of it. When it comes to the floor exercises she thinks I must be feeling tired (she's not far off the mark) and about to take a nap so brings me some toys to keep me company before lying down next to me.
Linus also joins in the floor exercises either sitting on my stomach or walking under bits of me when you do exercises that involve lifting bits of you off the floor.
So raising and lowering legs, hips or arms is not consistent, they go to different levels depending on which animal is wandering around or if you suddenly get another soft toy dumped on you by a well meaning dog. I am sure it's all part of the experience.
Friday 2 February 2018
Adventures in exercises
I've tried various forms of exercise over the years and for the most part not enjoyed it at all.
Walking I enjoy but it doesn't really get the heart rate up for long enough especially when you keep stopping to admire the view.
Running is thoroughly misery making to me, gym equipment has a similar effect as well. I can swim but it's slow and things like aerobics classes are a good laugh for everyone else as I get left and right muddled (I don't anywhere else) and get out of sync with the rest of the class.
A few years ago at work they offered a taster class of kettle bell workout. It was 6 weeks and I thought I would give it a go. I thoroughly enjoyed it and was looking forward to them putting on full time classes. They did put on full time classes, but late in an evening when I could not make it.
So I decided to buy a kettle bell and a DVD and go it alone.
Bought them both but then had to put everything on hold as I re-injured my shoulder. Then as the shoulder was getting to the point where I thought it was just about healed my knees started to creak and pop and be very painful. Eventually I made it to the Dr's and he poked, prodded and diagnosed soft cartilage in both knees. So now I had exercises for the shoulder and also for the knees and the kettle bell was still getting more use as a doorstop than anything else.
But fast forward through injury and illness (other peoples not mine) and I dusted off the DVD and the bell and ran through the tutorial to remind myself of the exercises.
It wasn't as bad as it could have been but I did ache for a few days afterwards.
Walking I enjoy but it doesn't really get the heart rate up for long enough especially when you keep stopping to admire the view.
Running is thoroughly misery making to me, gym equipment has a similar effect as well. I can swim but it's slow and things like aerobics classes are a good laugh for everyone else as I get left and right muddled (I don't anywhere else) and get out of sync with the rest of the class.
A few years ago at work they offered a taster class of kettle bell workout. It was 6 weeks and I thought I would give it a go. I thoroughly enjoyed it and was looking forward to them putting on full time classes. They did put on full time classes, but late in an evening when I could not make it.
So I decided to buy a kettle bell and a DVD and go it alone.
Bought them both but then had to put everything on hold as I re-injured my shoulder. Then as the shoulder was getting to the point where I thought it was just about healed my knees started to creak and pop and be very painful. Eventually I made it to the Dr's and he poked, prodded and diagnosed soft cartilage in both knees. So now I had exercises for the shoulder and also for the knees and the kettle bell was still getting more use as a doorstop than anything else.
But fast forward through injury and illness (other peoples not mine) and I dusted off the DVD and the bell and ran through the tutorial to remind myself of the exercises.
It wasn't as bad as it could have been but I did ache for a few days afterwards.
Friday 26 January 2018
Kidneys about 1 month on
So yesterday Linus had another trip to the vets. He was due his annual MOT and boosters and it also gave us the opportunity to see if there was any difference in his kidney values.
He got a clean bill of health and his boosters, then we turned our attention to his kidneys. His weight was exactly the same as it was back at the end of December and so were his blood values. This is good news as it means he hasn't got any worse. So the plan is to re-check his blood values in 3 months time, in between now and then I need to weigh him regularly and if there is either a sudden or a gradual creeping change in his weight to take him back in.
He is now fully on his new diet and eating it with great enthusiasm. All the tins and pouches say he needs 3 of them a day but as I feed him dry as well he is getting 1.5 tins/pouches a day so, theoretically, he is on a half and half dry and wet food diet.
Just in case anyone is interested he is getting the James Wellbeloved Senior (Fish) dry food. The wet food is a random tin or pouch from the following
Fish4Cats: Salmon Mousse for Cats, Trout Mousse for Cats, Tuna Fillet With Crab, Tuna Fillet With Salmon, Tuna Fillet With Seaweed & Sardine and Mackerel
Sainsburies Delicious Collection (Ocean Fish)
Natures Menu Country Hunter Duck and Pheasant
James Welbelloved Grain Free Senior (Lamb)
For treats he is getting Fish4Dogs Superior Adult Complete Small-Bite. We got a free sample of this with the first order from them and Linus loves them.
There were other foods out there that he tried and either rejected or ate without enthusiasm. Applaws (wet ad dry) & Wainwrights. He also rejected the one Hills chicken free renal diet. I have listed them so if anyone is looking for chicken free cat food then they know that these options are available, just because Linus doesn't like them doesn't mean another cat won't.
He got a clean bill of health and his boosters, then we turned our attention to his kidneys. His weight was exactly the same as it was back at the end of December and so were his blood values. This is good news as it means he hasn't got any worse. So the plan is to re-check his blood values in 3 months time, in between now and then I need to weigh him regularly and if there is either a sudden or a gradual creeping change in his weight to take him back in.
He is now fully on his new diet and eating it with great enthusiasm. All the tins and pouches say he needs 3 of them a day but as I feed him dry as well he is getting 1.5 tins/pouches a day so, theoretically, he is on a half and half dry and wet food diet.
Just in case anyone is interested he is getting the James Wellbeloved Senior (Fish) dry food. The wet food is a random tin or pouch from the following
Fish4Cats: Salmon Mousse for Cats, Trout Mousse for Cats, Tuna Fillet With Crab, Tuna Fillet With Salmon, Tuna Fillet With Seaweed & Sardine and Mackerel
Sainsburies Delicious Collection (Ocean Fish)
Natures Menu Country Hunter Duck and Pheasant
James Welbelloved Grain Free Senior (Lamb)
For treats he is getting Fish4Dogs Superior Adult Complete Small-Bite. We got a free sample of this with the first order from them and Linus loves them.
There were other foods out there that he tried and either rejected or ate without enthusiasm. Applaws (wet ad dry) & Wainwrights. He also rejected the one Hills chicken free renal diet. I have listed them so if anyone is looking for chicken free cat food then they know that these options are available, just because Linus doesn't like them doesn't mean another cat won't.
Saturday 13 January 2018
Kidneys
2017 was, in some places, a fairly stressfull year and by Christmas I had hoped it was all over. But in the couple of weeks running up to Christmas I noticed that Linus was drinking more than normal. I left it over Christmas as it could have been due to me having the heating on more so I wanted to observe and check he really was drinking more and it wasn't my imagination.
It wasn't my imagination, so when Hilda went to the vets for her annual MOT and vaccinations between Christmas and New Year Linus came along too to get checked out. My initial thought was Diabetes, Fluffy was diabetic towards the end of her life and while this felt similar it wasn't exactly the same so I wasn't totally sure. Hilda got a clean bill of health and then we turned our attention to Linus. After explaining what I had noticed the vet thought similarly to me and, after giving him a quick all-over check, took a urine sample to check.
The various bits of analysis took a couple of minutes and the good news was that it wasn't diabetes. Just about everything else was also normal, the bad news was that it was a very dilute sample and the specific gravity was way below normal. One blood test later and the results were in, Linus is in the early stages of kidney failure. What was needed now was a change in diet. Sounds simple enough but Linus cannot have chicken so the task of finding a suitable diet was handed over to one of the vet nurses.
I took the vet nurse something from Bothams Bakeries in Whitby as a thank you as I knew the struggle she was going to have searching for suitable Linus food. I have spent years reading the ingredients of every new cat food on the market, usually with great dismay. It no longer surprises me to discover that in a 'fish' cat food the first ingredient on the list is usually either Chicken or the dreaded "Meat and Animal Derivatives". So to find a selection with no chicken and also very strict limits on protein, ash and phosphates was not going to be easy.
We are both pleasantly surprised to discover there was more options than we thought, there was only one specialist renal food (which he won't eat) but between us we have found 6 different dry foods from 4 manufacturers and good collection of tinned and pouched foods from 5 manufacturers. So Linus is now enjoying a smorgasbord style buffet dining experience of dry food and a random daily sample of different 'wet' foods to try. The idea is we can work out which ones he likes and settle on those for his future diet.
So far we have discovered that some 'wet' foods are actually very dry but the addition of some water makes them palatable (to Linus not me!). In addition to the specialist renal food one of the dry foods has also been rejected by Linus so until the remaining 3 samples arrive from the manufacturer he is on two different dry foods. He isn't keen on mousse style wet food, I think it must be the texture, he eats it but not with any enthusiasm and doesn't ask for more when it's done.
Linus is due his annual MOT at the end of this month so I will report back on progress after that.
It wasn't my imagination, so when Hilda went to the vets for her annual MOT and vaccinations between Christmas and New Year Linus came along too to get checked out. My initial thought was Diabetes, Fluffy was diabetic towards the end of her life and while this felt similar it wasn't exactly the same so I wasn't totally sure. Hilda got a clean bill of health and then we turned our attention to Linus. After explaining what I had noticed the vet thought similarly to me and, after giving him a quick all-over check, took a urine sample to check.
The various bits of analysis took a couple of minutes and the good news was that it wasn't diabetes. Just about everything else was also normal, the bad news was that it was a very dilute sample and the specific gravity was way below normal. One blood test later and the results were in, Linus is in the early stages of kidney failure. What was needed now was a change in diet. Sounds simple enough but Linus cannot have chicken so the task of finding a suitable diet was handed over to one of the vet nurses.
I took the vet nurse something from Bothams Bakeries in Whitby as a thank you as I knew the struggle she was going to have searching for suitable Linus food. I have spent years reading the ingredients of every new cat food on the market, usually with great dismay. It no longer surprises me to discover that in a 'fish' cat food the first ingredient on the list is usually either Chicken or the dreaded "Meat and Animal Derivatives". So to find a selection with no chicken and also very strict limits on protein, ash and phosphates was not going to be easy.
We are both pleasantly surprised to discover there was more options than we thought, there was only one specialist renal food (which he won't eat) but between us we have found 6 different dry foods from 4 manufacturers and good collection of tinned and pouched foods from 5 manufacturers. So Linus is now enjoying a smorgasbord style buffet dining experience of dry food and a random daily sample of different 'wet' foods to try. The idea is we can work out which ones he likes and settle on those for his future diet.
So far we have discovered that some 'wet' foods are actually very dry but the addition of some water makes them palatable (to Linus not me!). In addition to the specialist renal food one of the dry foods has also been rejected by Linus so until the remaining 3 samples arrive from the manufacturer he is on two different dry foods. He isn't keen on mousse style wet food, I think it must be the texture, he eats it but not with any enthusiasm and doesn't ask for more when it's done.
Linus is due his annual MOT at the end of this month so I will report back on progress after that.
Friday 12 January 2018
Happy 2018!
A bit later than most people but Hilda and I did spend the first few days of the new year out and about camping, well Glamping. I had planned to try and go glamping in January 2017 on a last minute deal but there were none or none where I could take the dog with me so we tried again this year and booked in advance.
We went to stay in the pods at the Falcon Inn near Cloughton. We went on the 1st January (start the year as you mean to go on!) There were a few other people there who had stayed over Christmas and the New Year but by Tuesday we had the place to ourselves. The pods are about 8 foot by 12 foot and designed to sleep 4, so plenty of space for 1 woman and her dog. They are insulated and come with lighting and heating but everything else you need to take.
There was a heavy frost the first night and gale force winds the second but Hilda and I were snug, dry and warm in our pod. We did plenty of walking and on the last night had dinner in The Falcon Inn and breakfast on the last morning (to save me having to wash up). I can recommend the pods and the Inn.
It's a bit hard to make out bit the slightly darker grey just over the shrubs is the sea (honest!)
We went to stay in the pods at the Falcon Inn near Cloughton. We went on the 1st January (start the year as you mean to go on!) There were a few other people there who had stayed over Christmas and the New Year but by Tuesday we had the place to ourselves. The pods are about 8 foot by 12 foot and designed to sleep 4, so plenty of space for 1 woman and her dog. They are insulated and come with lighting and heating but everything else you need to take.
There was a heavy frost the first night and gale force winds the second but Hilda and I were snug, dry and warm in our pod. We did plenty of walking and on the last night had dinner in The Falcon Inn and breakfast on the last morning (to save me having to wash up). I can recommend the pods and the Inn.
View from our Pod
It's a bit hard to make out bit the slightly darker grey just over the shrubs is the sea (honest!)
Friday 17 November 2017
Olaf
Another post that I wrote and didn't push the publish button on.
Olaf: July 2002 - October 2016
Olaf had never been a particularly cuddly cat and didn't enjoy being picked up so I didn't. At his annual MOT in January this year he had lost some weight but not a lot, nothing that a more mature cat might not loose from leading a more sedentary lifestyle.
In September he had a bit of an upset tummy which didn't really go away so he got whisked off to the vets, that's when he got re-weighed and had lost a lot more weight. You couldn't tell from looking at him, he was still very fluffy and was his usual talkative self with a voracious appetite but loosing weight very rapidly.
We went back and forth to the vets a few times and we very soon had a diagnosis of lymphoma. We gave him a good chance and he tried very hard but in the end the Lymphoma won and we said goodbye to Olaf.
The house is a lot quieter without him to pass comment on everything and he will be missed. Linus and Hilda are missing him but all three of us are slowly adjusting.
Olaf: July 2002 - October 2016
Olaf had never been a particularly cuddly cat and didn't enjoy being picked up so I didn't. At his annual MOT in January this year he had lost some weight but not a lot, nothing that a more mature cat might not loose from leading a more sedentary lifestyle.
In September he had a bit of an upset tummy which didn't really go away so he got whisked off to the vets, that's when he got re-weighed and had lost a lot more weight. You couldn't tell from looking at him, he was still very fluffy and was his usual talkative self with a voracious appetite but loosing weight very rapidly.
We went back and forth to the vets a few times and we very soon had a diagnosis of lymphoma. We gave him a good chance and he tried very hard but in the end the Lymphoma won and we said goodbye to Olaf.
The house is a lot quieter without him to pass comment on everything and he will be missed. Linus and Hilda are missing him but all three of us are slowly adjusting.
Linus (top) and Olaf working hard to prevent me from decorating
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