Pretty is

...My Life and Style

You are here: Home / Archives for Elvis

My Best Friend has Four Paws

One year, for my birthday, my sister gave me this coffee cup…It was true.

My little Elvis was a friend like no other.  He was a full time job, but he was no work at all.

It was in May 2025 that he began to have some physical problems.  We took him to the vet right away.

Dr. Bradberry ordered:

  • Catalyst Chem 17
  • CBC w/Diff.
  • t4/SDMA Catalyst Test
  • Electrolyte test
  • Urinalysis-Sedivus/UA/Bact Confirmation
  • Fluids
  • Cerenia
  • Pepcid
  • Gabapentin
  • and a prescription for a new special cat food.

She found nothing wrong with his heart, kidneys, or liver and she was very specific about his kidneys and liver.  After that visit, Elvis stopped vomiting and seemed to be okay until July.  We went back for another cerenia injection and fluids.

 Right after Labor Day he began showing signs of swelling in his abdomen.  This time we saw Dr. Thoma.  She ordered the Catalyst Chem 17 again and afterwards gave us the bad news.  His liver was failing.  She asked me if I would consider euthanasia, to which I shook my head.  Never would I give up so easily on my beloved baby cat.  I asked if there was anything I could do to save him.  So she drained the fluid in his abdomen and wrote 3 prescriptions:

  • Furosemide liquid (2x daily for fluid retention)
  • S-Adenosyl Methionine liquid (2x daily for liver support)
  • and Mirataz ointment (1x daily in the ear for increased appetite).

We went through several different brands of food to find something Elvis would eat.  His interest would pique and then fall away leaving me to start over.  Eventually I would spoon feed him.

There would be 2 more visits to Dr. Thoma because of fluid buildup.  Then Elvis began to refuse his medicine.  I would roll him up like a burrito and if I managed to get the medicine in him, he would eliminate it as soon as I put him down on the floor.

After much urging from my daughters, I finally made an appointment with San Jose-Beauclerc Animal Clinic and took Elvis to see Dr. Holly on November 26th.  Amanda came along.  The vet requested Elvis’ records from his previous appointments and ordered more tests.  Dr. Holly advised me that Elvis had possibly one of these three conditions:  Feline Infectious Peritonitis (FIP), GI Lymphoma, or Liver Cancer.  She said we could make him comfortable, but it would only give us [maybe] a few weeks with him.  She prescribed Prednisolone (2x daily).  I’m not sure why but was a lot easier for him to keep down.  Probably because it didn’t smell like old meat.

We spent the rest of his days doing whatever Elvis wanted to do, which was sitting out on the patio

or being in my arms

…sometimes all night long.

On Monday following his last appointment I noticed blood in his litter box.  I called Dr. Holly.  When she returned to the office she called back and let me know what I already knew.

Elvis passed away while we were sitting in our spot on the sofa.

It was Sunday December 7 around 5:45 PM.  LB and I will never forget that day.

The reason I’m putting this in writing is to remind myself that I did everything that I could to save my sweet little cat.

I loved you your whole life and I’ll miss you for the rest of mine.

~

Thank you for taking time out of your day to stop by my blog.

Sweet 16

My baby is sixteen years old today!

Elvis has been with me since he was three months old.

It was December 12, 2009 and my plan was to give my oldest daughter Stephanie a kitten for Christmas.  LB and I went to the Humane Society and looked at all the adorable kitties that were living there.  Some of them were in crates; some of them were playing together in the Kitty Cabana.  As we walked into the Kitty Cabana I noticed one little black fur ball scurry behind a kitty play set. Of course I went after him.  Given the fact that he was so skittish, I was surprised that he let me pick him up.  Not only did he let me pick him up, he let me hold him close and snuggle.  I had found a winner.
We took him home.


My plan was to keep him for the next several days before Christmas and then take him to Stephanie on Christmas morning.

It was only a few days that he was with us and I knew I wasn’t going to be able to part with him.


The decision was made that I would keep Elvis and go back to the Humane Society for another rescue.

 

Exactly one week later, we went back and adopted Aymie.  She and Stephanie are inseparable.  Aymie is obviously a good sport.

~

If you have a kitty in your life, you know just how special he can be.

Elvis used to go everywhere with me.  Now he is a homebody.  He tolerates no visitors and hides under the bed as soon as he is aware that company has arrived.  To most people, he seems very unsociable.
However, when he detects that his mama has arrived home, he comes running.  He then leads me to the living room for some hello-let’s-have-a-brush time.

Elvis sleeps on my bed at my feet. He is anxious for me to get up in the morning and has been known to sit by my head and pat my nose. His favorite time is when I’m sitting in my living room chair letting him sleep on my lap. 

He is sleeping on the recliner next to me as I type this post.

He is just a precious little fur ball, and I’m so happy to have him in my life.

Happy Birthday Elvis!

~

Thank you for taking time out of your day to stop by my blog.

Friday Favorites

And I have some Happy Friday Favorites to share!

This week we celebrated my sweet kitty’s 13th birthday!

Happy Birthday to my

Favorite # ONE

Elvis

I’ve tried to get Elvis to pose for a birthday pic every year.

Some years we didn’t get lucky, but for the most part, Elvis has posed nicely for his annual photo shoot.  He is such a good kitty.

We came across something at ALDI that we thought Elvis might enjoy so for about $8 we picked up

Favorite # TWO

Cat Playhouse

 

He loves it… especially with the addition of catnip.

Another fun item I recently found at ALDI is my

Favorite # THREE

KETO Bagels

I’m not sharing this information so you will go to Aldi and purchase these bagels.  They usually only have 2 packages on the shelf so leave them there for me.

I love them!

Only 2 net carbs and 90 calories in the whole bagel. Plus lots of fiber.  I’m sure that Dr. Berg would find something “bad” in the ingredients list, but I’m not going to ask for his opinion.  Ignorance is BLISS.

On Tuesday I enjoyed one of those bagels toasted with a little bit of cheese.  The cheese was all bubbly and melt-y and looking delicious.  I couldn’t wait to sit down at my stupid desk and enjoy it.  Instead I dropped it in my lap.  And I got melted cheddar all over my long cardigan.

So sad.

In an effort to make myself feel better, I went shopping for a new one.

Favorite # FOUR

Long Ribbed Duster from Venus.

Yep… I feel better already.

~

I received this item for my birthday [thanks Gina!], but just used it for the first time this week…

Favorite # FIVE

I used it and THEN I read the reviews.  Hopefully my feet won’t become victim to exfoliation obliteration.  It is supposed to take up to two weeks for results. I’ll keep you posted.

~

Thank you for taking time out of your day to stop by my blog.

Friday Favorites

IT IS

YAY!

Favorite # ONE

Amanda

Wednesday was Amanda’s birthday but since she had to go out of town on business, we gathered Sunday night to celebrate.  Amanda requested a birthday cake that is reminiscent of one my Mema Reid used to make.  I have never been able to make mine look like hers.

It is a yellow layer cake with chocolate icing.  The icing is fudgy like candy

Favorite # TWO

Humility

There is nothing like presenting an ugly birthday cake to someone you love.

I don’t know why I can’t get this cake right!

~

Its beginning to look a lot like Christmas

now that the Christmas cards are coming and this one is my favorite…

Favorite # THREE

handcrafted by this little artistAfter sending this picture via text, I told Emily to tell Lydia that I love it.  Lydia’s reply was “I knew she would love it.”

~

Favorite # FOUR

Duck Duck Go

I’ve said goodbye to Google.

~

Favorite # FIVE

Texas

You can read about it here.

God Bless Texas!

~

Thank you for taking time out of your day to stop by my blog.

Friday Favorites

IT’S FRIDAY!

According to superstition, Friday the 13th is an unlucky day.

But I think any DAY preceded by FRI is fabulous!

Also, according to superstition, it is bad luck to have a black cat cross your path.

Again I disagree because of this catmy

Favorite # ONE

He crosses my path every day!

Yesterday we celebrated his 10th birthdayI love my purr baby!

~

Favorite # TWO

Knowing how much I love my cat, my sister and niece recorded a lovely meow version of

Happy Birthday Dear Elvis and asked me to share it with him.  So I did.. I didn’t ask her permission to share her video with anyone else, but I will share mine.

You can see it here.

~

Favorite # THREE

A Very Brady Renovation

The first episode of the four-part miniseries ran this past Monday on HGTV.   For me, it was a walk down Memory Lane featuring the remaining cast of the 1970’s hit series The Brady Bunch.  As a fan of the series and a Marcia-wannabe, I had been looking forward to this program and enjoyed every bit of the 90 minute episode.  And as info… Marcia is still very groovy!

~

Favorite # FOUR

Playing Barbies

  with Glam-babies!

Naked Barbies to be precise.

No Barbie in her right mind would get in the pool fully clothed!

I enjoyed having the opportunity to spend time with Lydia and Rory this week!

ALWAYS a favorite!

~

Favorite # FIVE

Being Promoted

Not me…

my babyRichard has accepted a management position and completed his training.  He will be moving soon to start his new job.

And that is all I’ll say about that for now.

 

Thank you for taking time out of your day to stop by my blog.

NATIONAL BLACK CAT DAY

Today is

Don’t be superstitious!

black cat GIF

October 27 is National Black Cat Day, and it is all about celebrating the beauty of these sleek creatures.

And the fluffy ones too!

“While this time of year black cats may decorate many thresholds for Halloween and windows for spooky decor, these felines deserve the love and attention just as much as their tabby counterparts.  Old notions have given these furry critters a bad reputation.  National Black Cat Day is about turning that reputation around” (source).

HOW TO OBSERVE

If you are a cat lover and considering adopting, don’t overlook the sweet little black cats looking for love.  There is no rational reason to be afraid of black cats, so open your home to the dark side!  Take a picture and post on social media using  #NationalBlackCatDay to share (source).

Stories about my black fur baby Elvis Cat Starling can be read here and here.

Thank you for taking time out of your day to stop by my blog.

 

The Dreaded Vet

This morning I checked an item off of my to-do list that I have anticipated with mild horror all week long.

The dreaded visit to…

The Vet

scared jim carrey GIF

[for the Christmas Eve episode follow up].

You can read about that event here, but in brief, we were at the Pet Emergency Clinic for nearly six hours on Christmas Eve.

The poor baby has a bad reputation at his vet’s office…  and they greet him with Kevlar gloves.

Although he loves the two people who live with him, he does not like the people at the Whitehouse Animal Hospital, the people that come to his house to visit, or ANY other people.

Let me add that I like and appreciate the staff at the Whitehouse Animal Hospital and feel that we have had excellent attention and nothing less than professional care from this establishment.

THANK YOU Whitehouse Animal Hospital (from Elvis Cat Starling)

As it turned out, in contrast to the Christmas Eve episode, the only displeasure experienced this morning was a moment spent on the scale for the poor baby.  He has gained 12 ounces since December 24th.  Although it would have thrown his Mama into despondency, Elvis didn’t seem to mind.

The Prognosis is Good

It seems that Elvis has asthma and possibly an allergy or two that will trigger an attack.

On December 23rd he began to experience difficulty breathing which was likely brought on by something in the house.  The only thing we can attribute this to is new kitty litter or possibly Christmas decor dust.  Bless his little heart.  Since Christmas Eve, he has been taking prednisone, which we will now be able to wean him from,  and a capsule that he doesn’t have to take anymore [at all] unless there is another occurrence like the one we recently experienced (thank you Dr. Susan).

Here is a picture of Elvis in his kitty carrier.  His death grip is even bigger than his eyes.

this is the only picture LB took today because he was as stressed out as everyone else and didn’t feel that picture taking was of value at the time.  Also it was a little scary.

 

 

 

Thank you for taking time out of your day to stop by my blog.

Kim

 

Connect