Acne…just Acne!

Posted on August 21, 2014August 21, 2014 by Dusty Roads

Just got back from the “Cat Hospital” where the Vet examined a very squirmy Rocky.

I noticed this morning that the swelling seemed to have subsided overnight and clearly it wasn’t as tender as he let me pet him with no “melps” or aversion. Still I felt as a senior cat that it was worth following up on.

Rocky has lost a little weight ( We can only hope that Buddy is losing too. ) but no temp. Rocky also let the vet look into his mouth and under his tongue and all was good there. Under his chin, nestled in his chin hair, was a pimple.

Maybe it was an ingrown hair or maybe he scratched himself or got a bug bite, but that little pimple looked like it could have been the problem. It still looked red and sore.

She also pointed out a ring of black heads along his lower jaw line. Diagnosis: Kitty Acne! Treatment: warm compress, Strident Wipes, and an OTC antibacterial cream interspersed with lots of petting. I am also going to toss out the plastic water dishes and switch them to ceramic. I did that with the food bowls years ago when I had Little Joe because he was prone to kitty acne too.

So I guess cats and humans have something in common. Adult onset acne!

So glad that’s all it is.

If It’s Not One Thing It’s Another!

Posted on August 20, 2014August 20, 2014 by Dusty Roads

So you all know that this year has been a rough one in my little household. First I played the klutz and got all bruised up on the trip to San Diego.

Then poor Smokey passed away.

Smokey

And most recently I came down with shingles.

Just when I thought things might be looking up Rocky started acting strange. Well he always acts strange but this time he started acting like he was in pain.

Yesterday morning he played fuzzy alarm clock and got me up by sticking his nose in my face. Cat whiskers tickle in case you didn’t know that. As I moved over to make room for him he plopped his chin on my hand while I rubbed his cheeks, chin and throat. He was the picture of contentment.

This morning was completely different. Once again he woke me up by sticking his nose in my face but when I went to give his chin a rub he gave a melp (that’s the cat version of yelp) and almost backed off the bed in an effort to get away. That got my attention.

I got up and tried to approach him but he kept running away. This is not normal behavior for the Rocket-man.

I decided to feed them fish cat food for breakfast. I usually save that for treats because I’ve heard fish flavored cat food isn’t good for male cats. Of course they love it. It’s Rocky’s favorite and I wanted to be sure he was eating. He is. And he had a drink of water after breakfast and he did some grooming. All good signs.

Except when he came over for his after breakfast petting session and I reached for his head…he almost fell over backward getting away. I let him go and he found a chair to his liking and curled up to sleep. If he’s sick that’s probably just what he needs.

He is now letting me pet his back and if I work my way up from his back to his neck to his head I can gently stroke his cheeks but I can’t go near his chin.

I called the vet and tomorrow morning we’ll find out what, if anything is going on. I’ll be sure to let you know.

I Was Just Thinking

Posted on August 19, 2014August 19, 2014 by Dusty Roads

I still haven’t felt up to going out and about much which is a big reason I haven’t posted much this summer. I think in addition to “feeling poorly” that I’ve also been a little “down in the dumps”. I’ve been lazy. But I admit I perked up when my last two posts of Buddy got some attention. I thought sure I’d neglected things for so long that no one would be paying any attention.

That got me thinking about things that have been in the news lately. First of all was the Robin Williams Suicide. So so sad. Of course it brought out all of the well meaning people who want to use Robin’s death as a call to arms to prevent other suicides. I guess if it helps save someone else then that’s ok. But I feel more for the man and all the demons he has battled. I think his recent diagnosis of Parkinson’s may have been the last straw. He just didn’t have it in him to keep fighting. RIP Robin Williams. You have earned a rest.

And what’s up with Ferguson, Missouri? I missed the beginning of this disaster. I just turned on the news one night and thought I was watching riots in a 3rd world country, not right here in the good old US of A. Are we back to the Civil Rights days? I gather that a white police officer shot and killed a black teenager. The police officer is on paid suspension while his world is exploding. No matter what I read I can’t get a handle on what happened here. A call for a sick person and a call for a robbery. Someone says Brown (the teenager) attacked the officer but another account says the officer was in his cruiser when he fired the first shot. The teenager was unarmed. He was shot 6 times. It sounds terrible. It is tragic. But haven’t we gotten past the riots and looting? Black or white, that doesn’t help anyone.

Is the Market Basket saga news to anyone besides people in Massachusetts and New Hampshire? A family owned business fired it CEO and almost all of the employees of it’s chain of grocery stores (Market Basket) walk off the job. The chain is losing tens of thousands of dollars while this dispute rages but the rift in the family is so bitter that they can’t come to any agreement. I think they are in the 5th week of this battle. The ousted CEO has offered to buy the chain of stores but no one can come to an agreement and the strike goes on. I don’t know the inner dynamics but from the outside looking in it seems we have a case of biting the nose off to spite the face. No matter what, the family is not going to let the ousted cousin win. They’d rather bankrupt the business.

What a sad, sad state of affairs. 🙁