Monthly Archives: October 2007

8:05pm, 5.6 centered in Alum Rock outside East San Jose, so not very far from me. Biggest one I’ve felt I think (Loma Prieta I was in Davis and felt it but it was just rolling since we were so far away). My whole house started shaking, glasses rattling, and I crouched on the ground by the couch & watched my china cabinet & the mad scientist display rattle for a full 30 seconds but NOTHING EVER FELL! After the shaking stopped it was rolling for awhile more. Looks like everything is okay outside, a lightweight candle chandelier still swinging on the patio, but the only things that fell were the crystal ball off the piano, onto carpet so not broken, and from the high shelf in my bathroom, my plastic box of heather from Scotland which mashed the corner a little, and a pillar candle that didn’t even break, just a wax mark on the toilet seat as it fell. My lamppost outside that has blown over & broken so many times didn’t even fall over!

I hope everyone local is okay too…as it started I was wondering if my house was going to fall apart and I don’t have earthquake insurance, adding to my October woes! Thank goodness it wasn’t!

Thank you so much to everyone for all your nice words. It is very helpful to know I have such kind & supportive friends. Our conductor called as soon as he heard about Kylie, saying he understands if I couldn’t make choir rehearsal, which made me very thankful, since all the sympathy would have had me bawling worse, and if we sang anything remotely sad I would have lost it entirely. My work team sent a giant bouquet of lilies with a sympathy card which was very sweet but made me cry again, then Nathania & Kevin left a beautiful cheery-colored bouquet with a nice card on my porch too. I spent my evening doing laundry, cleaning all the rugs and cushions Kylie used, reorganizing leftover food that was still good, and cleaning the fancy litter box thoroughly, so it all will be out of my sight for awhile to let me grieve, but all clean for a new kitty eventually. Yesterday when I’d walk past the uneaten food from Sunday night I’d just start crying again so it took me awhile to get the gumption to clean it up so I wouldn’t react like that anymore. I keep thinking I hear her cries for help still in another room, like ghost meows. My plan was to get all kitty stuff cleaned & put away, then watch Chuck & Heroes to get my mind off the day’s events so I could sleep, but I wasn’t letting myself until I finished cleaning the litter box, and that was the hardest since that was the last thing, and it required taking it apart and unhooking from the water supply. By the time I started watching Chuck, eating a couple pumpkin pasties & leftover pastry brie for dinner with a big glass of homemade cider, I fell asleep halfway through the show so I just went to bed around 1am. I slept well thank goodness but my eyes are still puffy. A couple emails this morning had me crying a bit again, and now my boss just wanted details of what happened so my eyes were leaking by the end again, but at least not the racking sobs of yesterday.

I’ve been feeling guilty about trying to celebrate Halloween, but today I’ve decided I’m going to try to enjoy it because I know Kylie appreciated & loved my quirks along with me. It was always obvious to everyone that I was her favorite person. The last several years she was even participating in the parties by being social and cooperating with the holiday costumes, so I think she would approve of me celebrating my favorite holiday. If I didn’t like Halloween so much I wouldn’t have been wanting a black cat in the first place, then my roommate wouldn’t have told me he saw a black stray cat on Memorial Day 1996, so I have always considered Halloween “our” holiday and Kylie was my favorite Halloween accessory. I am wearing my new black cat earrings today in her honor, but I’m still not sure if I’ll wear my whole devil costume to work tomorrow. Maybe resurrecting the Webmistress outfit is another option since I haven’t worn it many years now. We’ll see how I feel & how early I can get up in the morning.

Thanks again everyone.

Requiem for Kylie

The vet called back & said the bloodwork from last week was fine, no diabetes or other issue, except for high thyroid levels, which would explain the excessive drinking and pressure in the eyes. To confirm they needed more blood, and then I’ll need to go to a specialist next week. I took Kylie in for another blood sample as soon as I was off the phone with the vet, and thankfully she didn’t yowl so that must have been better than last week. That is all I can possibly do for her today, since they wouldn’t prescribe anything for her until the next blood test results are back.

Since there’s nothing else I can really do for her now except give her cuddles, which is difficult when she wants to hide away from the light, I will keep her comfy and safely away from party guests tomorrow, then get her to the specialist ASAP next week. There are 3 treatments: lifelong medication, surgical removal of the thyroid (riskier since intrustive surgery), and best chance is radio-iodine chemotherapy, which is a week stay at the hospital then she’d be fine. The chemo only works in some cats, though, so the specialist has to determine if she’s a good candidate. At least I know there are treatments, and we are well on the way to knowing what it is & how to fix it. It’s still a little hard to be as enthused about the party as usual, but I have done all I can do for her today, which is really the best I can do for her right now.

Melanie was vacuuming for me while I was at the vet, which was even better for keeping Kylie calm since she hates that, and Kael was helping with Batato Chips too. Their afternoon timing was impeccable for keeping party prep going while I zoomed over to the vet. I am VERY thankful for helpers this year!

Back to party prep now…thanks for the good thoughts for Kylie…

I’m waiting for the vet I saw last week to call me back. I think her “good” eye is less able to dilate as of around midnight, and she was washing both eyes so much last night her front paws & head were all scraggly. At least she’s giving the washing a rest as of this morning. Now today she’s been drinking water for about a minute straight about every half hour and is just letting it hang out of her mouth. That is not normal. My poor kitty…

The party will still happen, just might be less & less I get done before tomorrow night…