September 2, 2010

I took Nelly to a new vet this morning- my friend Simon from the camera club is a vet, and I decided to switch because the original vet we'd taken Nelly to basically said there wasn't anything they could do about her ears being so itchy. I noticed when I got back from Michigan on Friday that not only has Nelly been scratching a lot, she's rubbing her eyes and also around her mouth seems to be itchy. She scratches quite a bit, and I can hear her scratching at night. She's also more fussy than usual (those of you who know Nelly will know what I mean!) She's been waking me up at night every 3 hours or so, and that usually wears off in a day or 2 after I get back from a trip. Anyway, time for a trip to the vet. Simon said it was probably allergies, and he gave her a steroid shot, hoping that it would knock back her over active immune response. I'm not expecting a cure, I'd just like her to be more comfortable and less fussy especially at night. Anyway if the steroids work she may need them every 3 months or so- it's not good to give them too often. Here's hoping it helps. The vet couldn't believe that Nelly is 16 now- she's very healthy, aside from a slight deafness in the lower ranges at times. Her teeth look great, her fur is nice and shiny, and she's still very active, aside from right now which is typical for a post-vet visit. Yesterday she forgot she was a housecat and was outside stalking a muntjac deer (about the size of a boxer) which somehow made it's way into my garden!

Just now I was drinking some tea, and I got to the bottom of the cup and thought "uh, what's that crunchy thing in my mouth?!" Turns out that it was a decent sized bug! With wings! I was blessed enough to have started to crunch it with my teeth so I got the full effect of crushed bug flavour in my mouth...not the first time I've eaten a bug, but I prefer to have the choice of it. :) This was quite a big one, with a crunchy exoskeleton, and it wasn't very tasty. Yuck.

About that muntjac that I mentioned earlier- you may have missed that as I was mostly talking about Nelly. Muntjac are a small deer, and at first glance might pass for a tan coloured boxer. They are not city dwellers. Important point, because I have no idea where this one came from, how it got in, or where it should go. Apparently they are impossible to catch because they panic and break their legs in the frantic struggle to get away. I've put some water out for this one because I thought it might be thirsty, but Simon my vet friend suggested the only thing to do is provide a way for it to get out of the garden. Great. Where's it going to go though? Into the street? I don't want a dead muntjac, so I guess I better figure something out.  Here's a link with some more info on these little deer:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/species/Reeves%27s_Muntjac

Since I got back I've also been doing a lot of cleaning, vacuuming, and getting rid of random clutter that appears over time- it's been nice to get rid of old clothes and just generally nip that "you've lived in the same house and stuff piles up" business that happens to most of us. :) I was thinking about it today, and basically I haven't been living here in my house for over 3 months, between house sitting, traveling, and staying with friends. Time for a clear out! You're probably wondering why I'd want to stay elsewhere for 3 months. I mentioned over a year and a half ago that we'd been meeting with a relationship therapist/counselor, and I've also mentioned to quite a few of you that it's become clearer over the past 6 months that the issue is in fact not relational, but has to do with some quite serious thinking issues that G has, which impact me in a negative way. It's too complicated to put into a blog really. But not living in the same house has been very helpful for both of us, and in light of that G is going to be moving in with a good friend here in Cambridge in a week or 2. I know I'm glossing over a lot of the detail, but suffice it to say it's been a difficult process- pr for us both as we adjust to the changes, and for our community here to be supportive and understanding.