The Bedbug

Just because it's Friday, here's my favorite Bitey picture of all time. There's nothing my cat loves (loved?) more than getting his grimy, muddy paws on newly changed sheets. Sometimes he'd end up under the fitted sheet, content just to sit there. I wondered about oxygen levels, but he always seemed content.

This time he ended up above the fitted sheet but deep under the duvet. I had walked away for a moment and when I came back he had stuck his head out from under the covers. I ran for the camera...

Under the covers is the place where Bitey feels the safest lately. He sleeps there, between us, all night long, until I am awakened at 5:30am by a slapshot from his paw, saying "Get up, lady, I'm hungry!"

Bitey Update: Thursday March 23rd

Bitey went to West LA today, presumably for his fourth dose of kitty radiation. But I got a call from the kitty radiologist who said that he didn't recommend giving the fourth dose.

He said that radiation had probably reached the limit of what it could do in terms of making Bitey walk again. "If it hasn't worked by now, it probably isn't going to."

It was hard to hear. Bitey has gotten progressively better after each radiology field trip. To have that taken away...

But Bitey will still get kitty chemo and kitty steroids, and the doctor suprised me by enthusiastically recommending the K-9 Kittycart. So this weekend, I'll attempt to take Bitey's measurements for the kitty cart. And believe me, there WILL be video.

One Eyed Jack

There is a cat at my local vet who is looking for a home. His name is One Eyed Jack. Three guesses why. He was taken in by a technician there, but she can't keep him. He is a long haired tabby, about five years old, with a strong resemblence to a Maine Coon Cat. The tech says he is very good and patient, you can pick him up and hold him without resistance. He sits all day long in a cage in the front of the vet's office looking patient and sad, staring at the world from his one good eye. Every day I see him I want to take him home, but obviously I can't. Want a cat? Swing by my vet and check out Jack. Click here for the address.

Goin' Mobile

On the mobility front, Bitey is still dragging, but he is more than happy to allow me to grab his hind legs like a wheelbarrow. This allows him to run around the house with ease and grace. I, on the other hand, am bent double, running around like a kitty sherpa.

I've tried wrapping the cat's rear in a long Hawaiian print scarf so that I can hold his rear upright without turning myself into a hunchback, but he ineveitably twists his way out of that.

I've also tried creating a "do it yourself" kitty cart with roller skates and a cardboard box. The results were, to say the least, predictable.

So, while wincing at the $275 dollar cost, I am seriously considering investinging in a proper "kitty cart."

K-9 Carts has an impressive looking device. I'd love to see Bitey tooling around the yard what looks like a mobile Pilates reformer. However, with the total Bitey tab closing in on $7000, and my credit score in freefall, I have to ask whether this is a wise investment for a cat with a life expectancy of four months. On the other hand, there is nothing more pathetic than watching your once active and graceful cat dragging his rear end around from door to door, looking longingly through the glass at the little universe he once ruled.

I do let Bitey out at least twice a day, at least long enough to chew on some grass and watch the birds. We have not yet encountered any of the neighborhood felines, for which Bitey and I are both grateful. I think he would be humiliated to be caught using his human as a transportation device.

You know of course that this sucker is totally going to be ordering a kitty cart, right? I just hope my future children enjoy community college.

Bitey Update: Wednesday March 22nd

Okay, so as a blogger, I am definitely lacking.

Since I last wrote, Bitey has had his third radiation treatment, and tomorrow will go to the kitty oncologist for his 4th and presumably final treatment. One the one hand, my wallet is profoundly grateful to be nearing the conclusion of this $400 dollar a week drain. However, Bitey has made such marked improvement after each treatment that I am sorry and scared to see it end.

After last week's treatment,the kitty oncologist called Bitey's progress "miraculous." Of course, he followed this by saying that this improvement is most likely a brief reprieve before the inevitable end.

It's hard to hear about the end, especially when Bitey is putting more and more weight on his back legs. When he is at the food bowl, you can arrange his back legs in a standing position, and he'll, for the most part, stay that way. He still lacks the strength to balance his rear end, so if you take your hand away completely he'll gently fall over to one side. However, if you keep just the slightest pressure on one side of his back end, he'll do all the work to hold up his rear.

Another positive sign: While Bitey cannot walk on his back legs, they do "twitch" often, and if he is dragging along the floor with his legs splayed out behind him, he can actually "twitch" his left leg into a better position.

On the negative side: He's getting nosebleeds. This is a classic Feline Leukemia Virus symptom, which means that whatever good the chemo and radiation are doing, it's not quite enough.

So we wait and see what tomorrow brings.