Silk is Gone:(

Since 15 February, Silk has been at the vet... well over three and one half months. Not in a cage, mind you, but at the vet. This was just one of the 23 cats rescued from the hoarder/foreclosure situation in Los Angeles which we are, unbelievably, STILL dealing with.

First, Silk, extremely ill, was in a cage... all the tubes and bags and all that stuff... one extremely ill cat that required more drugs than I have ever had through four illnesses and cancer, and a blood transfusion from Scarlet the Cat as well.

But as the first weeks went by, Silk was better and free to leave her cage and jump from a surgery room counter into the deep window ledge where she would sleep in the sun for the day.

Or maybe she would walk the vet office and just say hi to everyone, including all the other vet cats.

Or maybe I would get to the vet to see my vet standing and using the computer because Silk was sound asleep in her chair.

Or perhaps you would see Silk curled up on the entry counter of the clinic, last Thursday, in a wee little green cat bed, sound asleep but with a touch would radiate a huge purr and a head-butt.

But no more.

Little wee Silk, whose owners NEVER even gave her one damn chance, has moved on. We gave her EVERY chance ten times over. And with your prayers, so did you.

For the last two days, Silk has lived at the vet's home. Today, my vet put Silk to sleep. My vet and the staff loved this cat and this was VERY hard for her, particularly, and for the staff as well who cared for and adored this cat.

So, tonight, please lift a cup to the wee Silk and sound a prayer for her. She fought, I fought, the vet and staff fought and you fought. We all did our very best. And please say a very special prayer for ALL the people, Dr. Laura and Gilbert especially, who moved mountains for this little girl at the clinic. They are really very, very sad.

Tonight we all send her off to the comfortable ledge in the sun, the sweet slow walk, and the nap on the counter and all the other places that Silk enjoyed while sharing her world with us.

May Silk bask in the sun forever more, and may God Bless this beautiful little one... Silk.

Thank you, each and every one, that took a moment for Silk in prayer.

Kizo and Silk the Cats, BO33, and Rick Warren

Well, my won- der- ful rescue cat, Kizo, is leaving for his very nice new digs this Saturday. And just in time to live in air conditioning, no less. A nice thing when temps--like today--are (sigh) almost 100 degrees F.

Kizo's new mom is very excited, and so are we!

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Silk the Cat is so much better! Thank you all for your prayers for her (please don't stop!). The specialists still cannot figure out why her BUN levels are high... they still believe she is bleeding internally somewhere perhaps a small stomach or intestinal lesion or ulcer. We are hoping to have her scoped when the specialist hits my vet next.

She is getting stronger and looks SO much better... has the run of the vet office pretty much... but we just cannot seem to get her well. The vet is trying some new medication and we are hoping this might help.

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Bumped into an explanation of the BO33 issue with some elementary explanations about resolutions at convention and the basic making of sausage in the church which I found extremely helpful. Perhaps you will too.

Read here.

There are eight separate resolutions pertaining to the "issue" of B033, none of them specifically revoking B033, but all of them supplanting it one way or another (which is how it often works, I learned). There are links to each resolution on the issue.

An excellent read.

*****

Since I went off on a toot yesterday about Bul, today it's back to Rick Warren who, as you know, spent a lot of time supporting Prop 8 and in general defaming lgbt folks and who also has an interest in Uganda/AIDS, including non-distribution of condoms, and who lobbied heavily against an update to PEPFAR to strike funding for abstinence-only programs. The bill failed, Warren succeeded and Uganda's AIDS infections rose dramatically.

Read about Warren in Uganda, here. This is a January 2009 piece, but warrants reading if you have not, already... even re-reading because of the cast of characters you will find below.

Interestingly, the Bush Administration lackey that supported abstinence-only programs--Randall Tobias, AIDS Czar-- was eventually found to be using the services of the D.C. Madam. Oops. Like Craig's wide stance, Tobias admitted he had only gotten massages. Read here.

Massages. Uh huh.

Tobias shared a stage with Warren as PEPFAR Czar.

Kay Warren has a vision of STOPPING aids. Her approach is that the ONLY way to really accomplish this is through abstinence, though she does not view condoms as an evil (or so she says), she just, personally, doesn't prescribe to the notion that this is any kind of solution. Uganda Rev. Ssempa (note that he and the Warrens are also friends and Ssempa has appeared several times at Warren's church) also has testified at the behest of the government of Uganda before the US Congress.

So, the next stop is Human Rights Watch (HRW) and their 2007 letter to Congress on the issue where they more or less tie all of this into a big bundle, though without direct mention to Warren. Read it here. It is well foot-noted, BTW.

One of the most important things to carry away from the HRW letter is that your taxes and mine are supporting not only religious people, such as Warren who has spoken extremely harshly IN Uganda about lgbt people, government agencies in Uganda that are killing, harassing, and/or jailing lgbt Ugandans. In the case of religious organizations funded through PEPFAR, both US and not, they are free to promote terrible legal penalties to be visited on the lgbt people of Uganda, but lgbt people are NOT free to speak for themselves. Rather a terrible irony. In fact, Ssempa has asked that the media refrain from ANY debate or discussion on the matter.

Nothing like a free press, right?

So, the bottom line here is that we are supporting human rights violations not only with our taxes, but through our Communion. I cannot speak for you, but as for me... that is just never going to be acceptable.

As an aside, now it turns out that Mark Carver who is an apparent employee of Warren's PEACE program is editing the Wiki discussion on Warren and it has created quite the war!

You can read about it at Lavender Newswire, here.

The Noodle, 6 Days Old! Update on Silk the Cat

Darned if this isn't just a cute baby and such a great and nice mom!

We are still looking for some mom-less babies about this age to add for Noodle's sake in terms of socialization. The fosterer has fallen in love with both these wonderful animals, so I may have lost a foster (!) but the kitten, Noodle, may have a home! Foster believes she also may have a wonderful home for Ragu, the mom. Wouldn't that be swell! She still needs her vaccines and microchipping (can't given vaccines to pregnant cats), and will be spayed when Noodle is 10 weeks old, but that's a cinch! Finding a wonderful indoor only home (so much wildlife here, cats are unsafe outside) is often not so easy.

Mom and baby are healthy and happy and Ragu is now playing again when not being her supermom self. She is getting spoiled by the family including their cat-loving 8 year old.

*****

The news on Silk is mostly great... but confounding.

Silk came to the razor's edge of life, quite literally. Scarlet, the vet's blood donor kitty, saved Silk's life. That much is certain.

And I am as certain that God heard your prayers for little Silk. Please continue to keep Silk on your prayer list.

After 50 days, we appear to have successfully kept Silk's kidneys from failing. That is remarkable in and of itself for many reasons. Her creatinine levels are now normal as are almost all levels except her BUN levels... the confounding factor:

• creatinine: Creatinine is a waste product excreted through the kidneys. It is indicative of overall declining kidney function.
• BUN: BUN is a waste product excreted through the kidneys. BUN is more reflective of dietary impacts than creatinine. An increase in BUN can also be due to dehydration (a symptom of CRF and many other diseases and syndromes).

Kidney disease is a major cause of death in both cats and dogs and understanding its origins can be helpful in avoiding it. Also, and I cannot emphasize this enough, PLEASE keep your cat's and dog's teeth clean. Dental disease is responsible for heart, liver, kidney and lung disease and there is literature indicating that bacteria from bad teeth can pass through the blood/brain barrier as well. Serious stuff.

If you are interested in chronic kidney failure (CRF, often found in seniors) in either dogs or cats, I refer you to the following:
Here, a basic primer.
Here, which is excellent on feline CRF and here to explain testing and results.

If you have a hyperthyroid cat (this is the thyroid disease most common in cats, while dogs generally become hypothyroid), it is important to understand the connection between the diseases and kidney problems and good to know which breeds of cats and dogs are more likely to come down with the thyroid disease. Because these autoimmune diseases can wreck havoc on organs, one must be aware of the symptoms for cats and dogs as a preventative measure.

In Silk's case, diet may have had a LOT to do with her condition. Cats are obligate (strict) carnivores and Silk and her 21 brothers and sisters were fed a largely vegetarian diet--a HUGE no-no. Cats were NOT evolved to eat such a diet, including vegetables and particularly grains. Think lion and corn on the cob. A complete mis-match.

Silk is still at the vet... day 50 today. She is only three years old, so this is not related to age. In two weeks, my vet is going to a three-day seminar with the country's experts on renal conditions in cats. She is taking Silk's case with her to run by these veterinary experts in renal disease. I cannot even tell you how many tests she has had! That Silk will have the free benefit of experts reviewing her charts is a dream come true.

My vet is fantastic with cats, as you can see, and really has done an absolutely fabulous job with Silk, who she adores. I honestly think she is considering making her one of her own cats by her statements today which is a match made in heaven!

Silk is wandering around the clinic, getting her stregnth, and hops up, now, about four feet to sit in the sun on the window sill. Her coat is shiny, her ears are still giving her a bit of trouble (but this is the least of her worries), and she has gained a bit of weight though she remains quite petite. The vet believes the rise in BUN levels MAY be due to some sort of ulceration in her stomach or intestines, a problem sometimes associated with this disease but very hard to pinpoint. Hopefully the super experts will be able to help.

Silk the Cat, Update 4

Still Need Those Prayers!

Well, the news is good and not so good.

The good: She is still eating on her own. Good also that her BUN and creatinine levels are finally lowering [related to kidney disease or CRF (chronic renal failure)... she is only 5, so this may not be a permanent thing].

• BUN (blood urea nitrogen) BUN is a waste product excreted through the kidneys. BUN is more reflective of dietary impacts than creatinine. An increase in BUN can also be due to dehydration (a symptom of CRF, or chronic renal failure, and many other diseases and syndromes). (so lower levels are better!)
  
• Creatinine is a waste product excreted through the kidneys. It is indicative of overall declining kidney function (so lower levels are better!)
  

The origin of this may be pancreatitis (which often occurs when starvation sets in. This can begin after about 24 hours in some cats, later in others) which can then cause the onset of kidney failure. This can cause intestinal lesions or intestinal ulcers that bleed. She is being treated with antibiotics, is being given fluids (down from 2x/day to once every two days now which suggests her kidneys are functioning better along with dropping BUN and creatinine levels), and also is being given pepsids for her intestines. When cats don't feel well, they don't eat. That makes them more dehydrated and which makes them want to eat even less which then pushes them into starvation mode, which causes then an array of other things, as you can see above. A real Catch-22.

So, the bottom line is that she still has a long way to go after being treated, now, for 28 days. Silks future is still quite uncertain.

We would sure appreciate your continuing prayers for little Silk. She is really giving this a fight and we would sure like to back her up in every way possible.

Thanks, everyone.

Silk the Cat, Update #3

We're getting there. Please keep up the prayers!
Went to the vet today to visit Silk and see how she was doing. She was strong enough that the techs let her walk around the hospital (the vet here is truly a cat person) and they felt if she wanted to, it couldn't hurt. She has been so very sick that the exercise is needed as the poor girl's little muscles will atrophy soon.

I do have to chuckle at her fur boots. She had so many IVs they shaved a pretty large portion of her legs to find a vein that was usable. She was so sick her veins were literally collapsing.

She is not out of the woods yet, but all of this is VERY encouraging. Didn't eat as well today, but that is okay. If that continues, they can put her on appetite enhancers (though sometimes they do not work, and if they do, they often take days... but one has to try!) and also make sure it is not her tummy or intestines bothering her. She will get another blood test tomorrow.

She lost a pound going into this, but has gained back 13 oz. which is excellent. She is also on a protein powder supplement for cats to try to stop the muscle atrophy which, in cats when they lose weight rapidly, onsets quickly.

She is just sneezing mildly and appears to have picked up a wee bit of a cold, but it is not bad. They are treating her right eye, as well. You can see in the picture it seems to be bothering her. Often, when cats get colds, they get eye problems with it.

So... keep up the prayers. They just adore her and she is receiving great care.

Update on Silk the Cat... PRAYERS please!

I walked in the door of the vet today and everyone was smiling. My favorite receptionist, a peppy and joyous young woman with a face and smile that would stop a train and a heart that is generously in grace, led me back joyously... and there was Silk... eating from a disposable spoon.

She is not out of the woods by ANY means. This has happened before with her, but this is very encouraging.

So... you are obviously a powerful bunch... PLEASE keep praying (and whatever it is you atheists do!) to support her.

You cannot imagine what my vet bill is right now. Really, you cannot. Scares me silly, but I will make it or find it. Goes with the (rescue) territory.

This is a courageous cat that is fighting. She is not willing to go gently into that goodnight--just yet.

Those of you that know and understand dogs and cats, you know when that light is gone and have likely seen it in their eyes. That is where it shows. That isn't happening here right now, though last week she was literally a blob of life in every way.

I held her for 1/2 hour, then had to leave, but the vet staff there, that adores her, is taking GREAT care of her. I could never ask more. The tech told me that when they were transfusing her (the vet went in on a Sunday and so did the tech to do this), they couldn't even find a vein because her blood pressure was so low. But he didn't give up (he's been there 15 years) and he finally got it, and voila!

Believe me, this is one of those miracle cases and my fabulous vet has conferred with specialists, as well.

I believe this cat will live. I really do. But I need YOUR help to make it so. Please continue to pray. Please.

I meant to take a camera today, but this week has been so terrible (for many, many reasons) that I feel, myself, overwhelmed. I will take pictures on Monday.

But for a nicer and updated 1:37 on five of the other cats from this, go here.

This slideshow (with music) is the three week difference between filth, hoarding and a terrible diet to clean, free and on a good diet. I wish you all could actually SEE them and the difference. It is truly remarkable.

Urgent Prayer Request for Silk

I have not been posting much, lately, be- cause of the 22 foreclosure cats.

There are still 11 to find places for, and the family has been using the last two as an excuse not to be evicted ... and foreclosed on. It is a dynamic you would have to be associated with to understand.

Now, I seriously need your help.

Silk, only four years old, one of the cats taken from the home, has been VERY ill. She has had 12 blood/urine tests since arriving at my vet less than a month ago, and one blood transfusion. She arrived at the vet with a serious (perhaps systemic) infection that started with ears that were infected and drowned in pus. Ick. Even I, who has seen just about everything, can safely pen that.

PLEASE say prayers for Silk. My Dear God, she has been through enough.

The vet and the staff adore her. She is loving, affectionate, and SICK. They are doing everything they can for her.

Now, just a warning... anyone religious that comes here that doesn't believe animals should be prayed for... well, you are at the wrong park bench. Get off.

Those of you who are atheists, well figure out a way to help. You are not free and clear from acting, and I am serious about that.

She needs your help, and so do I.

This photo doesn't show the IV or the wee bandaged feet. This is what she looked like after five days at the vet, her ears cleaned up. She looks a lot worse now, but she is a fighter and she is not giving up, and neither are we.