Nosie . . . We All Miss You

2013 Nov . . . you were so sweet when you finally let me pet you.

It's been a week since you left us, Nosebud. I think it has finally dawned on your siblings that you are gone.

24 Dec 2012 You always slept in the funniest poses.

I know Indy misses chasing you up the stairs. Sometimes I think she looks for you.

Abby misses the friendship that you two finally achieved this past year. 

20 Nov 2012 . . . Nosie and Marcus

Marcus and Matthew, even though they didn't want to be with you when you were sick, are demanding more attention now than when you were alive. 

2012 Thanksgiving
Clockwise from back: Marcus, Nosie in the front and Matthew on the left.
They often slept all curled up together.

Matthew always liked coming up during the night for cuddles, but, now, she does it multiple times while we are sleeping. And Marcus has started sleeping on my legs instead of Dad's.

Jan 2014
Marcus and Abby looking for treats.
Matthew is in the wreath box behind them.
You enjoyed the short time you had
searching for treats in Indy's Christmas Toy.

 Matthew is starting to eat treats at night . . . maybe she left them for you when you were here and now she feels like she can eat some.

Enjoy your time over the Rainbow Bridge. I hope you have met the rest of Momma's fu~babies who have passed before you. Run with the angels, chase those butterflies and play with your newfound siblings. One day, I will come home to be with you and the rest of your mommas fur~babies.

Nosebud . . . 29 March 2003 - 11 Jan 2014

Nosebud died,

Saturday Evening,

11 Jan 2014.

(This was not the birthday present I had wanted .)

Nosebud when she felt good
sleeping in "her box."

 I knew it would happen.

Heavens, as soon as we are born

we are starting our journey to death.

Snuggling with me
10 Jan 2014

 It just doesn't seem fair

that an animal can't tell you

when and where they hurt.

They just have to rely on their human

to correctly read their signals.

 But, she let me snuggle with her

this last week.

I hope it made her feel as comfortable

as it made me feel.

Snuggling with me
10 Jan 2014

 She was always an independent calico . . . 

stand-offish, only got petted when she wanted it

and, heaven forbid, I should try to pet her.

No idea why, but she only became friendly with me

 the last couple of months.

Maybe, in the deep recesses of her mind

she knew something was going on in her body

and she needed to make amends.

Snuggling with me
10 Jan 2014

She got her 2nd IV on Saturday.

She took it well . . . 

she had even gained some weight

since she was weighed earlier in the week.

Probably from the last IV . . . 

she sure hadn't been eating much.

I tried to get as much canned, high calorie food

into her by syringe as I could.

But, she would finally let me know enough was enough.

Snuggling with me
10 Jan 2014

If there is a good thins to say,

she died on her own.

I think she might have had a stroke . . . 

just the movements she made.

But she let me pick her up

and she died in my arms,

lying on my chest

with my heartbeat helping her pass over

the Rainbow Bridge to be with her fur~Momma.

God Rest you sweet soul, Nosie.

Momma always loved you

and will see you when it is her time to go.

Nosebud

This is Nosie. It's a long story, but her nickname is Nosebud. She was from a litter of a feral cat who semi-adopted us. She was the first of the kittens to investigate outside of the sleeping area they were in, thus her name, Nosie.

I called the vet on Monday because she "wasn't herself."  Normally she is the first one out into the kitchen for treats and always in the kitchen when we are eating to see what human food she can coerce out of us. This weekend, she never showed up for either.


We had both noticed that she had lost weight, which really was a good thing for her, but she was, all of a sudden, looking way to thin.

When I hold Nosie,
 I try to keep a shearling lined blanket on my lap
that I can conform to her body
so she doesn't have to work at getting comfortable.

We got into the vet on Tuesday morning. Found out her temp was fine, nothing showed up when Dr Drapo ran her hands all over her body looking for any signs of difference in her body parts. Nothing there. Next was the heart check. She heard a slight murmur, which hadn't been noted before. 

Next came the blood work, the results came back on Wednesday (yesterday). Not good . . . everything but one was in a good range . . . kidney function was fine for a cat her age. Now, the bad part. The phosphorus potassium level was sky high. (edited after Nosebud had her 1st saline IV . . . I knew it was a "p" word, just picked the wrong one.)

Dr Drapo told us that when the this is so high, but the kidney functioning is relatively normal, it's a sign of cancer somewhere in the body.

Poor Nosie, we could have run a ton of tests on her, but she is just so tired and worn out  couldn't put her through the stress. Plus, I know the end of her life is coming soon. So I told the doctor I just want to take her home and love her as long as I can.

That's Matthew, the nice sister, in the background.
I wish Matthew would be brave enough
to get next to Nosie and groom her.
I think that would make both of them feel better.

She sent some soft food, high in calories, that I have to mix with water to feed her via syringe. Then today, she was to go in to get a saline IV to get some water into her body. We had to postpone her 9:20 appointment because our car decided to die yesterday and spent the whole afternoon in the shop and after replacing everything that could be causing the problem, it still won't start. So it is still there today while they do more tests, I am hoping we have it so she can go in at 3:00 for her IV.

Needless to say, things are sad around the house. One of her litter mates hissed at her, while the other one will walk over to her and almost looks like she is saying "How can I snuggle up to you, Nosie?"

Indy has started to keep an eye on Nosie, and makes sure Marcus, the "hisser" doesn't get close to her and is ready to run interference whenever Matthew (the other litter mate) or Abby, our older cat who is on thyroid meds, come close to her.

Another thing the doctor found
was that she had redder eyes than normal
and she had a lot of "eye boogers,"
So we have eye drops to give her,
and her eyes have cleared up a bit.

 I am holding her as much as possible . . . which is something she NEVER let me do. I fed her, via syringe, last night and this morning. This morning, it seemed to choke her so I guess that will stop. Now it will be "try food and if it causes distress, then water only." I want her to get as much love as possible before we lose her but I don't want her to be stressed or in pain. 

Right now, she doesn't seem to be in pain, just very, very tired.
~*~*~*~*~
Addition after Saline IV

The technician who was on duty at the vet, who I like and respect, said we could learn to do the IV. I was a little leery. She brought the IV bag, pole and lines into the room we were in and gave it to Nosie there.

I think I will be able to do it after I have them check me out. It is simpler than finding a vein in a human. With a cat, you take some skin above their spine, pull it up to make a tent and put the needle in the skin there. Now the saline is in under the skin and the body will absorb it.

We go in Saturday morning for her next "fix." I kidded her that not many cats have their "own bottle."

Resting after her 1st saline IV.

Family Picture TIme

First we have Abigail . . . or, as I call her, Abidail Tiddy Girl. AT night, when she becomes the Great Gray Hunter, the only way I can get her to stop her yeowling, and come up stairs to bed is call "Come Here, Abidail Tiddy Girl." For some reason, she knows this is her call and will, normally, come running up the stairs after I call her a couple of times.


In the video, you will notice she is very thin. She has a thyroid problem and has to take meds twice a day . . it is compounded by a Compounding Pharmacy so it can be applied to her inner ear as a lotion. After three years, she is finally getting used to it.

Now, we have Nosy. She is a calico and is EXTREMELY independent. For some reason she has gravitated to the husband. I tell her, "Why do you like him? I'm the one who chose to keep you?"

Lately, she has decided she wants me to rub her neck . . . would you check out how she is stretched out over the edge of the sofa? In her own, cool, collected way, she is a goofball.

Look Who's Coming To Your Neighborhood

This is my Nosebud.

Given name,

Nosie.

Nosebud comes from

jokingly calling her Rosebud once.

It has since

mutated to

Nosebud.

She is skittish . .

she will let The Husband pet her,

when she wants petted.

Me,

she only lets me comb her.

She will start her

Y-E-O-W-L-I-N-G

when she wants combed. 

If I walk through the room

where is is

Y-E-O-W-L-I-N-G

from,

she will high-tail it

to the kitchen window

and wait for me.

Then,

she expects me to comb her.

We have a

FURMINATER

that she LOVES.

She will run, and twist

all over the window ledge.

(It's a bow window so she has tons of room.)

I take great gobs of hair off of her . . .

and 20 minutes later she want sit again.

Indy

HATES the furminater.

Wish she were like Nosey.

Those two are my

"Let's shed hair all the time"

sister.

Signed,
She will be in the post in the morning . . . NOT!
(9548)

Almost Easter

It's almost Easter at the Tooke Household.

I haven't made anything new for easter this year.

well, kinda,

but I can't find a picture of it

so I'm not going to claim it.

Instead,

here is a look

at what came through

my hands

and

hooks last year.

Last year,

I was in the mood for Bunnies.

I designed the

washcloth on the left

for a friend's

60th birthday.

I named the Pattern"Oh No, There's a Hare in My Sink!"

It was going to be

"Gray Hare" but I liked the pink yarn better.

While still in the Bunny mode

I used the same basic Bunny,

doubled it

and came up with a potholder.

In the middle you will find the end results

for this pattern

"Bunnies in the Egg Garden."

So named

due to the bobbles on the edges

that resemble eggs.

Oh,

I guess I did make a Bunny this year.

On the right is

Mr. Bunny B. Squared.

He is a 12" x 12" square

I made for an afghan.

I need to make another one

with a white bunny.

At the time Mr. Squared

was completed,

I was out of white.

And for one of my

favorite sets of pictures.

I would like to introduce you to

Miss Nosie,

better known in these parts as Nosebud.

I had made the easter Eggs,

for no real reason,

I just liked the idea,

and I had scraps of yarn

that reminded me of Easter.

To "store" them

what better to use than an egg carton.

Cool Idea, huh?

As you can see,

Miss Nosy had to check them out.

I swear,

ever since she was old enough

to wander away from her momma,

she has been "nosing" into everything.

So that 1st name choice

turned out to be just perfect for her.

Signed,
More Easter to come in the Next Blog Post

Nosie & the Eggs

P3300182
Originally uploaded by tookeville

This is Nosy up in the kitchen bay window checking out the egg covers I crocheted and put on plastic eggs.

This was a lucky shot. She normally runs from me because I am the one who cleans her dirty eyes, which she hates.