How am I?

It has been nearly 10 months since diagnosed with a fatal heart condition.

I have been diligently taking medicine - three different kinds - twice a day.
I started coughing around Christmas, more than normal.
Mamma started documenting in my illness-journal how often.  Each time I would cough, she could not tell if I was coughing up a hair ball or having an asthma attack, so, she decided to contact my doctor.

Yesterday, I went to have an x-ray done.

I have fluid on my lungs, so I have to take a larger dose of one of my pills each day.  ☹ The doctor does not think I have asthma, but I would need an echo-cardiogram to be sure.  The doctor does think I may have something going on with my GI tract, so I am going to take Pepcid AC once a day for a couple of weeks to see if my symptoms go away.

Please pray for me.

My sister, Stivali, is always so very mean to me when I return from the vet.  She hisses at me and scratches at me.  Mamma researched preventative measures so that this would not happen - and tried three of the suggestions - which all failed, sadly.  So, I keep hiding to avoid Stivali.

Interesting fun fact learned at the vet - - - If I was human, I would be considered a 52-56 year old overweight male with congestive heart failure.

Hmmm...

Thank you, Readers, for your continued prayers.

My first YouTube appearance!

Stray Cat & Stivali

The Law of Increasing Returns

My mamma believes however much you love, you will be loved much more. 

Her three favorite words are: REACH, DREAM, LOVE

She is a dreamer, indeed, always reaching, and definitely loves. 

She believes that if you welcome people into your life, your life becomes richer. That seems to me to only make sense if the people are of value to enrich your life, rather than those who deplete your energy. 
There are plenty of those people around.

She was hurt really badly in her past, and developed a hard core, and built high walls around her for self protection. She became hard and calloused on the inside.  Yet, no matter what her past experience is, or what her present feelings are, she is STILL compassionate toward others. 

It is truly amazing to me how many people have been hurt badly in their past – so much so that they develop a hard core and build up those high walls.  I bet a lot of people are like mamma, but they develop such a hardness and callousness within them that they cannot even feel anything, nor are they able to be sensitive to others needs. I see that mamma is more sensitive to the feelings and needs of others and less sensitive to her own feelings and needs. She taught me, so I learned, and am still learning that any kind of personality, no matter how hurt or hurting, can be presented and projected in a kind, gentle way.  What mamma tries to impart in others, is not hardness (even if it is still deep within her), but understanding.  

Hurting people hurt people, but love can heal and change them. I like to believe I have helped soften my mamma on the inside.  I love my mamma very very much, and she loves me much much more - and that is the law of increasing returns. 

Goodbye 2016, Hello 2017!

My ma recently got rid of a scratching post I had since 2006.

She also threw out Stivali’s plastic and fabric cat-tower (circa 2010).  What we teasingly referred to as her princess perch where she once rested her weary head is no-more.

I do not necessarily like change.

In other thoughts, I am growing weary of the twice a day medicine intake – three pills / twice a day – it is getting old. 

My eyes are tearing a lot more now that winter is here and forced air heat is on all day long in the home. 

For the new year, I would like to think I was good enough in 2016 to deserve a break, or at least some strong cat nip. 

I wrote last time about the new cat tree which has brought minimal happiness to our life, but why does a new one mean that the old scratching post and princess perch must be thrown out? I realize the new is both a princess perch (however not as comfortable and it is lacking the comfortable hammock my dear sister adored) and offers multiple scratching posts.  That is nice, I guess.  Is there a maximum amount of allowable scratching posts in the home? If so, I was not aware of it. It is not as though I signed an agreement to live here under the condition that 8 scratching posts was too many . . . or something.  

Fellow cats, did you? Do you have such an agreement that precludes you from having 8 scratching posts?

   Hmmm... 

Happy New Year, Everyone, may your new year be filled with delicious cat nip and as many scratch posts as you please.