ProfessorTomoe

At the very least, it would give you a dirty pool.

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Pictures of Crystal:

A little something Mrs. Prof typed up about our current foster cat:

Until someone adopts her.

Saw my podiatrist today on a follow-up to the Tarsal Tunnel Syndrome. I was able to report that I hadn't had any pain in the arch of my right foot since about 3 days after the cortisone shot near my Achilles tendon. No additional shot called for today. I brought up a couple of new-ish problems. First, my feet have been flaking something fierce. I won't go TMI on this one - suffice it to say he thinks I have a fungal infection. He prescribed a cream and an oral antifungal. The other problem has to do with the hardware that's been installed in my right ankle since I broke it back in 2009 - seven screws and a plate. It's been hurting something fierce at random times. It comes in waves, like someone is taking a fecking sledgehammer and slamming it into it. The doctor didn't really have much to offer here. He mentioned the possibility of removing the hardware, which is a no-go: I had the hardware taken out of my left foot about 2 or 3 years after the fall, and it took forever for the surgical wound to heal (and only with the help of a wound care specialist and another operation involving implanting T-cells). I don't know what's going to happen this time around.

Mrs. Prof's foster cat project in the sewing room is coming along nicely. With Mrs. Prof out taking care of TNR trapping tonight, I'm home with only cats for company, so I thought I'd go in and pay Crystal (the foster cat) a visit - my first solo visit to her. To my surprise, she did not freak out and run off to hide. She was on a platform of a cat tree, and all she did was look up at me as I walked toward her. When I reached her, I easily began petting her. She leaned into it and, for lack of a better phrase, started enjoying the hell out of it. I gave her pets and scratches and rubs for a solid 10 minutes. She ate it all up. The only thing she wasn't a fan of was tummy rubs, so I took that off the buffet line rather quickly. She was willing to go for more beyond the 10 minutes I was in there, but my back was having no more of it. Fortunately, she didn't complain when I left. She just sort of rolled and purred. Interesting encounter.

I've been hyping the upcoming pre-release sale on iTunes of my new album, Derivations, which begins this Friday the 22nd. Shiat is about to get very real, folks. Seriously, if you're on iTunes and if you buy the album before the official release date (June 5th), you'll get early access to the first song on the album, "CyberFlight." Also happening Friday: I'm officially unveiling the Hearnow website that I let you folks in on earlier. More info, including info on CD availability (as in "will they be available?") in my new blog post.

Update: Baker the cat did not, in the overall scheme of things, end up liking the prescription food, so Mrs. Prof bought some Feline Urinary Tract support food that a cat organization she is acquainted with uses. Baker reportedly dove into it and chowed down. She also bought an oral gel called Methigel, which is a DL-Methionine amino acid supplement for urinary tract health, again at the cat organization's advice. I'm assuming Baker ate his first dose, because she didn't tell me about the outcome. We've had one incident of litter scattering, but that's it, and it was prior to the new food (which is chicken & gravy flavored, BTW, a supposed fave of his) and Methigel regimen. This is not going to be a short road to recovery. It's going to take daily monitoring and dietary adjustment. Will report as new info is available.

Update on Baker the cat: Baker had two good pees overnight. No apparent litter tossing. Mrs. Prof was impressed enough that she decided not to give him the medicine that makes him all goofy 'n stuff. He's trotting around the house like normal today, so far.

Update: Baker's tossing kitty litter again. He had been ignoring his prescription food, but just now I saw him begin eating it. Let's hope it helps.

One of our cats, Baker, was transported to a 24-hour veterinarian's office by Mrs. Prof last night. For two straight days, we'd found kitty litter scattered all over the floor around the litter boxes (we have multiple, since we've got two cats). Last night, Mrs. Prof noticed Baker going back and forth between the litter boxes. She kind of spied on him using one of them, and noted that nothing came out. She felt his abdomen and got worried that he might have a urethral blockage, so off to the vet they went. The good news was that there was no blockage. However, he might have been developing crystals. The vet couldn't tell since Baker's bladder was empty. So, conservatively, they gave him a pain med and medication to help relax his urethra. They also put him on prescription canned food. Meanwhile, Mrs. Prof needs to do some more research and consulting with her cat rescue friends. As of this morning, Baker is still on the medicine. He's rather grogged out and assuming the pose of Meatloaf Cat on the floor. I've seen him use the litter box successfully, and he's not scattering the litter so much. He's not too enamored with the prescription food, but we'll deal with that. Time will tell how he progresses.

The stupid, it hurts too much. I couldn't watch it all the way through.

We have another cat in the sewing room. Not under quarantine this time, and not such a talker. It's a female that was raising a litter of kittens that Mrs. Prof trapped and sent off for foster at another home (they're almost old enough for TNR treatment, but they won't be returned to the wild - they'll be neutered and adopted out). The female is *definitely* not feral. We've already both stuck our hands into the kennel and given it scratchies on the head and neck. It purred loudly in response. It won't come out of the carrier "cave" in the kennel far enough for full interaction with me, but I think Mrs. Prof has made further progress with it. I just have to get it used to the big, scary, hairy guy before I can make the same breakthrough.

Thanks! P.S.: He's not disappointed.