Marley's and My Best Hanukkah Gift!

The four medications I had for Marley -- lactulose, metrondiazle, denosyl and amoxillin. Lactulose has almost run out during my November 9th visit. I asked the vet about a refill. She said according to the bloodwork, Marley does not need lactulose. A week later or so after that appointment, metrondiazle has run out and I called vet about a refill and the office said no refill needed. Denosyl has run out a day or so before the next vet appointment on December 3rd, so I thought it's no harm to wait until then to find out if any refill is needed.

On December 3rd, I had an appointment with Marley's vet, who I have begun taking her to near my home since November 9th on my blog after I pulled her out from this hospital, for her another bloodwork. While there, I waited for Marley's turn to be taken in, there was 5 rescued cats roaming around at the vet office. One of the cats climbed onto my shoulder and sat comfortably on my back while I was holding Marley in my arms. I had to chuckle when Marley squinted her eyes and moved away her head in fear, thinking the cat would claw her when the cat only swung its tail. Marley can learn to tolerate cats but not my other dog, Murray, who is a true hunter. Marley would join him as a pack if she saw him go after an animal. They have killed a possum in my yard and since then, I have added a wind chime under my storm door to alert critters to run for their lives when I open the door. No dead animals found again.

Did you just talk briefly about me on this blog?

Marley demands to get closer to the dogs at the vet office and sniff them or else she'll bark up the storm! She is loud, considering that she can't hear herself and has given the wrong impression to people that she's mean and vicious -- actually she's quite the opposite and harmless! :) She does the same with people she is unable to get closer.

When it was Marley's turn, they had her blood drawn to be sent for testing and have the result back the following day. I had to call the next day to find out the result. The assistant took her to be weighed and said Marley has gained to 11 lbs and 4 ounces from 10 lbs and 7 ounces. I was relieved to know she was gaining albeit slow.

I called through relay and was nervous to learn about the result. The vet picked up the phone and I asked her about the result, being tempted not to hear it. She responded with the news that Marley's bloodwork has returned to almost normal. I couldn't believe what I was reading and asked her if she was serious. She said yes and she was very happy about the result. She said I can go back to Marley's regular food. I was afraid to jinx it and continued feeding Marley her special food while slowly changing the food that's proper for her diet. The news was my best Hanukkah gift and that one gift is enough for the whole 8 days! I do not know if Marley thinks it's enough and probably wants more :)

Don't stop feeding me special food just because I am well!

P.S. I just heard back from this person from the liver support group for dogs that I should be cautious in spite of the bloodwork result. Here is what she said:

"My opinion is that she's only "near normal", I wouldn't change food just yet. Do you have the most recent blood work results you can share with us so we can take a look at them? It's very possible she could have had an acute attack from an outside toxin. If Marley is eating the food you have her on now, which I think is lower protein, I would probably wait until you run the next set of blood work and BATs to know for sure that she's completely leveled out blood-wise. Why rock the boat or make a quick decision that might interfere with her progress? Also, I would look at her previous food and examine ALL the ingredients to ensure there's nothing in that particular food that she may be adverse to long term, cumulatively speaking.

Maria"

While remaining cautious and taking Maria's advice to continue feeding Marley bland diet with low protein, M&M and I truly, truly want to extend our appreciation for your kindness and support through the difficult time. The donation some have offered will help pay down Marley's medical bill and those who have donated will be contacted individually to show my gratitude. I have been overwhelmed since Marley became ill and didn't have much time for anything else.

To maintain this blog's integrity for the sake of deaf animals, I will scan the medical bill with the breakdown of the costs that accumulated to 2k and post it on here.

A hard lesson I have learned is to get pet insurance for both of my dogs. This topic will be discussed in the future blog.

Here's a wink to mommy for taking care of Marley!

Marlowe Finds Home with Another Deaf Cat

Hi,

I just wanted to send an update your way on a cat, Marlowe, you had posted on Deaf Animal Row way back in July. I know that you already have him listed as "adopted," but I thought you might like a follow-up to know how he's doing. I'm a sucker for sappy cat stories, anyway!

I am so grateful to your website! I am hearing but had a deaf cat already in my home. He is seven years old and came from my aunt; it was always a family joke that as soon as I graduated from college and moved out of student housing, I would be given WC (short for "White Cat"; a lot of other names were tried out and they just didn't fit!). My aunt didn't feel like she could give WC enough attention because he's a very affectionate, clingy cat and she had a lot of other cats around. Her home is animal rescue central! Also, WC never really got along well with the other cats. They discovered that they could sneak up on him and were a little vicious about it, so when I took WC in July he became an only cat for the first time in his life. He and I latched onto each other 4 years ago when I moved to Kansas, and now we got to live together! Fantastic! He enjoyed the extra attention from me but would stand at the door and cry every morning when I left for work. So sad!

This is WC as an only cat.

I decided that WC needed a companion, and that it might be a good idea to look for another deaf cat. I figured that even if they didn't understand their similarities, at least they'd be equally matched in stealth ability :) I found Marlowe on your website and didn't pursue it at first. After all, I live in Kansas and Marlowe was all the way in Tennessee! Still, Marlowe caught my eye because he looked so much like WC; even their eyes are the same color, on both sides! I eventually emailed Bruce Wilson, Marlowe's original rescuer, and was soon making plans to take a 3-day weekend to make the 900 mile drive to Tennessee to pick up Marlowe. I had to wait about a month for this to come up, but it was worth it! Marlowe has been nicknamed as Moe.

Moe makes himself at home

Moe still acts like a kitten!

I was skeptical at first about how the two cats would get along. WC has never been close with any of the cats he's lived with. They usually tolerated each other but never played together, slept in the same area, etc, etc. It took some adjusting, but I am amazed at how well Moe and WC get along! It took about a week for them to get to know each other but now they play together, eat together, sleep in the same bed, and act like they have know each other their whole lives.

Best buddies :) In seven years, WC has *never* been this close with another cat! I am amazed.

I have noticed that both are considerably less vocal than they were prior to Moe coming to the house. WC used to meow constantly, mostly to get my attention and the attention of other animals, and I had heard from Moe's rescuer that he was quite the talker. My theory on this is that these two guys really do understand that they have to communicate with each other using body language.

WC and Moe will meow at me to get my attention, but never at each other. I have also noticed that neither sneaks up on the other one, which is exactly what I was hoping for! Amazing! Moe has also had to do some adjusting of his own. He was pretty touchy when I brought him home after spending all two years of his life in a kennel. While he was well taken care of and definitely loved, he never got to play or explore. He is still very kitten-like and runs almost everywhere! He is starting to handle human affection much better and even lets me pick him up and hold him now. He's also a bathroom cat...ugh! I don't know ASL but WC and I do know the sign for "come" and use it regularly.

We have developed our own language that works for us, and Moe is starting to get used to it and respond. I'm very interested in learning more about name sign, as I'm sure both WC and Moe would respond very positively to it. Anyway, here are some pictures. Again, I really appreciate your website and all you do for deaf animals! I'm glad that there are still people in this world who understand that differences aren't necessarily "disabilities" and that every one of God's creatures deserves to be loved.

Stephanie Schmid

Laser chasing is a favorite activity around here.
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Get it, Moe, get it!