May
13, 2002
Puss Enjoys the Outdoors
Puss continues to do well. Her weight was back up to 8.75 lbs when I took her for acupuncture. I'd like to see it a little over 9 pounds, but I'm happy for the weight gain!
A couple of weeks ago I found a source for Steve's Real Food. They make raw food, and it's available in freeze dried and frozen. Not too surprisingly, Puss turned her nose up at the frozen (the boys love it). But she seems to like the freeze dried variety! I crumple up a nugget, mix it in with her canned food, and add a little bit of water to rehydrate it. We're up to about three or four nuggets a day.
It's been very hot out here in Texas. For a while I was taking her out into the kennel every day, but then she didn't seem to enjoy it as much. I still take her out; sometimes she runs right back in immediately, other times she stays out there quite some time. It's quite clear that she enjoys her time outside, but she has to want to be out there, and trying to guess when she wants to be out there isn't always easy.
She spends much of her day curled up behind me on my chair; curled around me, really. She also seems to want to be near me, because sometimes at night, when I'm in the living room watching tv, she'll come out and lay on me for a while.
She's really come to accept the fluids. She still doesn't enjoy the process, but most days she lays there relatively quietly through the process. I've discovered that she really likes string cheese, so I may try giving her some either during or after. It's amazing how you can discover new things about them after almost 18 years!
All in all, she's doing very well. It's still wearing, though, always watching and wondering, trying to guess if a downturn in appetite is due to the weather or due to the progressing kidney disease. I try to be thankful for each day, and put the future out of my mind, but it's not always easy.