Bath time

Not your typical bath, but the following pictures were taken back in August 2008 probably within the first few weeks we brought Reggie into our home. You can see how tiny he was and how Marley absolutely fell in love with his brother from the get go. Even to this day the baths only go one way, with Marley bathing Reggie. Reggie is a little selfish in that way I guess!

Speaking of bathing Reggie...that took place last Sunday and what an ordeal that always is...as you recall Marley is very, very good with his baths, but Reggie on the other hand...

My long sleeve shirt was soaking by the end, water was all over the floor and Reggie squealed like a little piglet during most of it - no joke, that was the sound he was making. Poor thing. He then slept the rest of the day and wouldn't even purr for me like he usually does if he's napping and I start rubbing his back. Weird thing is, he enjoys sitting on the sink while I'm washing my face and brushing my teeth, but wants nothing to do with water when it involves him! Sphynx need regular baths because they don't have the hair to absorb the body oils. Lucky for me, and Reggie, he only gets a bath every three weeks.

Frootbat Friday with Marley

My dad likes to hold me like this - I'm not quite sure why, but it sure shows off my ears...and my belly. The faint white dot is where I was connected to my mom with my umbilical cord.

I love lounging on my blanket by the window. You can see I am stretching here and I am oh, so comfortable. These pictures were also taken 3 months before my little brother arrived in our family.

This is my "yoda" pose!

Tumbling Thursday

What "are" you exactly?

"I don't know what you are, but you look like my brother...."

"He does this everyday, and not just to look outside...I don't get it..."

"I better make sure you are still my brother..."

This doesn't look like kitty food....

What's that noise in there?

Something interesting is in there I think...

I better check it out...

Kind of hot, but of course I have to inspect (my mom says excuse the messy counter)

While Reggie was being silly in the kitchen, this is what I was doing. I think me smarter than little brother.

UPDATE on Reggie: He will be getting his echocardiogram on February 6th.

Reggie UPDATE

Well, we got the results back from the radiologist and here they are. I am not too worried yet as Reggie is as healthy as can be and my preliminary "googling" has shown if you catch a potential heart problem early, the cat can live a great life...so, the next step is getting Reggie an echocardiogram. What I liked were the words, "slight" and "mild", instead of "significant" or "advanced". Keep Reggie in your purrers and thoughts! Here's to hoping the echocardiogram does NOT reveal early onset HCM.

Radiographic Findings:

Multiple views of the thorax were obtained. There is a mild bronchial

pattern with faint calcification of the bronchial walls. There is

slight cardiac enlargement with the heart traversing more than two

intercostal spaces in the lateral view.

Radiographic Conclusions:

Radiographic findings are most likely due to mild feline asthma

causing the clinical signs described. Infectious bronchitis and

fungal disease from Cryptococcus would be less likely. The presence

of early hypertrophic cardiomyopathy cannot be completely excluded

with the radiographic appearance of the heart.

Recommendations:

Symptomatic therapy for feline asthma could be initiated as clinically

indicated. Echocardiography would be recommended to more accurately

assess the heart.

Update from Reggie's V-E-T visit....

So, after not hearing from the V-E-T still at around 1:00pm, I decided to call over there. They told me they had only taken one x-ray so far (needed 3 total) because Reggie was difficult, and they were taking their time with him, which involved playing with him, rubbing his chin, and generally just calming him down (I love Banfield the Pet Hospital!). This was good since I didn't want them to have to anesthetize him if they didn't have to. So, I was told to call back in a few hours to check on his progress.

They called me around 4:00pm and said he was ready to go. They were successful in getting all three x-rays, and good ones at that, but my vet saw some minor abnormalities on the x-ray and wanted to send them out to an expert radiographer. I said of course, along with another $100 (total vet bill was $420 and that was with my discount for the wellness plan!)

This worried me nonetheless, but those that know me know that I am a BIG worry wart about everything.....so I tried not to think the worse....

It was now time for me to leave work and I headed out to go pick up lil' Reggie. The vet was awesome when I got there and took me in the back of the hospital and showed me the x-rays and explained everything to me. His heart, aorta, veins, etc. all are normal and look the right size. His trachea is also perfect and clear. The only "abnormalities" she saw were these little itty bitty white dots that she called "Donuts" around his lungs in a few places. I forget what she said they were (collection of cells?), but basically they can be linked to bronchitis or asthma...she wants to get the expert's opinion to see if they are serious or not. We will have the results in about a week.

My awesome vet then explained to me what the next possible steps could be, depending on what the radiographer says. We could try steroids for the asthma, or possibly a tracheal wash with cytology and culture (more invasive).

Here's to hoping the radiologist doesn't think the x-rays are serious! Honestly, he's only had 3 minor coughing episodes in the last 2 weeks, that I've heard anyways, and in general we think he's improved. He is as peppery and hyper and loving as ever!

It was so cute when we got home - Reggie was in his carrier and I was opening the front door and Marley was on the other side howling and meowing and then Reggie started meowing too - guess they really missed each other yesterday....

Oh, and yes, Reggie got lots of "stinky goodness" last night, as did Marley!

More Information:

This site's page talks about some of the items my vet explained to me yesterday, in particular the "donuts" and the tracheal wash. Just by "googling" feline asthma one can find lots more information. Please keep Reggie in your thoughts; if his asthma, or whatever it is, does not get any worse, I think that's the best outcome for now.

Reggie update

Dropped Reggie off at the vet's office this morning. He will be getting his yearly comprehensive exam as well as a chest x-ray, finally. He still coughs here and there so we want to find out what is going on with him. I hope this tells us something, if not... more tests!

I will be picking him up after work. He had to fast after midnight, but I sent him with his blanket and also some dry food for after they are finished with him. Poor guy was so hungry this morning - while I was brushing my teeth and washing my face he kept stretching out on my leg and nipping at my leg with his teethies!

Reminiscing - Baby Marley

Marley will be two years old in July, but I thought it was time to reminisce a little today. He was so darn cute; the only thing I regret is that I was 4 hours away from his breeder so I never got to visit with Marley until the day we picked him up. He only had 1 sister in his litter, who wound up with a nice family in Los Angeles as well! She was a striped tabby and you can see her here in a couple pictures.

Mom (Catrina), Marley and sister

Marley hamming it up at a young age

Marley and sister playing

This is a bed pillow, so you can see how little he was!

Happy New Year!

Mom and Dad spent yesterday at the Rose Bowl game where USC came out victorious over Penn State! They then came home and slept 12 hours! I think they slept longer than us last night!