Buddy – Page 15 – Pain In The Bud

Happy Turkey Day, Hehehe!

On Thanksgiving we eat a lot of turkey.

A Very Special Message From Buddy:

Back in 1621, the pilgrims and the Native Americans got together and ate turkey, and all was right with the world.

Now in 2023, I eat all the turkey, and all is right in the world. Hehehe!

I wish you a happy Turkey Day, and may you eat so much turkey that you nap for hours afterward with a comfortable human to use as your pillow. That’s what I’ll be doing! Because this year Big Buddy’s relatives have the COVID, which means Big Buddy isn’t going anywhere, which means I have turkey and Big Buddy, and turkey. All the turkey that humans were going to eat? I will eat it! Muahaha!

Don’t forget to give your cats turkey too!

Your friend,

Buddy

P.S. – I love turkey!

Behold My New Box, Humans!

An order from Chewy brought food, a new laser pointer and catnip, but Bud was most excited about the box because, well, because he’s a cat!

We’ve covered some heavy stuff lately, so I thought we’d get the week off to a happy start by turning things over to Buddy, who has a very important message.

“I have a new box. Behold my new box, humans! It is new and comfortable, and it smells like catnip and silvervine since my servant ordered a new tub of the stuff. Yes, he has done well. I am pleased.”

buddybox — Buddy testing out his new box.

buddybox2 — “Yes, this will do nicely, human.”

The shipment brought quite a few goodies for the Budster including a new laser pointer, two months’ worth of wet food and catnip.

We don’t normally endorse products on PITB, but we’re making an exception for From the Field’s catnip and silvervine blend not only because Bud loves the stuff, but also because it calmed him down and soothed his stomach when he was hurting last month.

I gave him some before I brought him to the veterinary hospital and again four or five days later when he had a little relapse. Both times he was crying and yowling in distress, and both times the catnip-silvervine blend settled him down, relieving his pain enough so he was able to rest comfortably and go to sleep. It’s a horrible feeling when your cat’s suffering and you can’t do anything to relieve the pain. This stuff did the trick and will have a permanent place in the Buddy Cupboard.

Finally, I created a new image of the little dude. What you’re looking at is a render based on a photograph of Bud, which was then run through an AI natural language processor with instructions not to alter the substance of the image, but to give it more of a surreal look. The image below is not actually what I was going for, and sometimes the failures can produce nice images in what Bob Ross would call “happy little accidents.” But it is a way to take a subpar camera phone shot, one in which I liked Buddy’s expression and pose but couldn’t fix the blurry bits, and turn it into something interesting.

Update: Buddy Is Doing Well!

Budd’s feeling much better and he’s back to his usual Buddinese antics!

Name: Buddy the Cat
Date: Oct. 13, 2023
Status: Very handsome

I just wanted to post what I hope will be the last update regarding Buddy’s recent illness and let everyone know that he’s doing very well, hasn’t had an incident since he got sick again on Sunday, and is back to his old antics.

I couldn’t be more thrilled. The little guy is energetic, talking all the time again and even pestering me for treats, which means his appetite has recovered as well, thanks in no small part to the prayers and support from all of you.

Dr. Buddy — “It is my professional opinion, as an expert in meowdicine, that I should be put on a regimen of regular snacks to, uh, recover my snackolyte levels and help balance my catesterol. This script says you should feed me moist treats in the afternoon, a post-dinner treat of crunchies, and a late night snack of my choosing. It’s very important that you don’t skip a dose!”

It’s still not clear exactly what happened, and hopefully I get a clearer picture of Bud’s overall health via a regular veterinary appointment.

In the meantime I’m glad to have my best friend back, and I’m especially thankful the ordeal is over for both of us. It was very frustrating to see him so clearly suffering and having no way to help him except trying to comfort him and giving him catnip, which worked surprisingly well to soothe his stomach. (If you ever find yourself in a similar situation, which I hope you do not, and your cat doesn’t typically eat catnip, try putting some in a pill pocket or finding another way to get kitty to eat it. All the online literature says it works best if ingested.)

Now if you’ll excuse me, Bud wants to nap and he’s demanding a lap to sleep on…

buddyoct2023_cropped — “Time to be my sleeping substrate, human. If you need to use the bathroom, go now, for I plan to sleep at least four hours.”

Update: Monday, Oct. 9: Step Forward, Step Back, Step Forward

Bud had a rough Sunday but he’s okay now.

Apologies for the lack of updates.

Buddy was improving for two days. Although he still wasn’t eating much, there were really encouraging signs: he was trilling and meowing more, he was more active and he even gave me a light warning bite while I was tossing and turning in my sleep, sort of a “Dude, don’t forget I’m here! Careful with those feet!”

On Sunday he ate a little more, then got sick again and was crying, vocalizing loudly in distress. I gave him some catnip and he settled down after a while.

Hopefully this is just a blip. He’s on my desk right now, rubbing his head against my hands as I type this. He seems fine. Although cats are creatures of habit, I’m going to try to give him smaller meals more frequently for at least a few days.

Also, Bud’s gotten wise to the meds and is trying to eat around them but I think he’s gotten most of the medication because it’s mixed pretty well in there. Another positive sign: He’s been drinking quite a bit.

I apologize for the intervening radio silence. I wasn’t sure what to write and it’s frustrating not having control over the situation. Obviously it was upsetting to see him hurting again and there’s a feeling of helplessness when that happens, but he seems better now.

Update II: Bud Is Feeling A Little Better!

Signs of Bud’s usual personality are returning!

First, thanks again to everyone for their well wishes and for advice on how to get a cat to take medication. I was finally able to get Bud to take his meds by crushing them and mixing them into a small amount of pate, so he had to take the meds in order to eat. When he ate the first small bit with the crushed medication, I added a little more food.

The little guy still isn’t eating much, especially compared to his usually bottomless appetite, but the fact that he is eating is an encouraging sign. I’m making sure he’s eating wet food and frequently replacing the water in his bowl so it’s fresh and he stays hydrated.

He has also vocalized a bit, which is very encouraging! He’s not offering the usual Buddesian play-by-play of his activities and he’s not yelling at me for snacks/better service/etc but I’ll take what I can get.

Today is very encouraging because he was still lethargic yesterday and he got sick again last night. Thankfully it was only once.

That’s about it. At times like this we all wish our cats could talk. Failing that, I’ll take a raised tail, a meow here and there, awareness and seeking affection/comfort.

Strangely, Buddy is still not really purring. I felt a small vibration at one point yesterday when I was scratching his head and talking to him, but nothing like the buzz of his usual purr. Hopefully that starts to come back too.

When he feels well enough to terrorize me again, I’ll throw a party!