Kitty Go POOP!!

The dissertation is coming along - nicely, I suppose. All chapters have been written, and are going through the editing process. (There are, in my head, three editing steps. Step one is being edited by my major professor. Step two is being edited by a second committee member who also agreed to serve as my reader. The final step is for my entire document to be read by all my committee members.) Chapter 1 has been through step 1 and is perhaps ready for 2. Chapter 2 has made it all the way through steps 1 and 2! Chapter 3, my longest chapter, in about 1/4 of the way through step 1. I still have a ways to go, but at least this stuff is on paper and somewhat out of my head.

In the meantime, I have also been dealing with a sick cat. Understand that I say "sick" because I don't want to say "old." She has just turned 12, and to me, that is not THAT old for a cat. I just don't want to face the possibility of "letting go." I'm sure that's understandable. At any rate, my oldest daughter, Miss Cleopatra Clementine Garlotte - Miss Cleo, is experiencing a nice handful of symptoms...lethargy, lack of appetite, grumpiness, and the biggie - constipation. It seems, though, that we've figured out a nice working remedy for the constipation, and I wanted to share it.

After researching online and talking with my vet, I tried a few of the remedies for the constipation. Most of the sites recommend plain, canned pumpkin (as opposed to pumpkin pie filling which contains spices and other schtuff) to increase the fiber in her diet. Being the picky eater that she is, coupled with her lack of appetite, she was not AT ALL interested in eating the pumpkin herself. I mixed it with some warm water and assisted her feeding with a syringe. I am a poop-checker, and I noticed that, when she was able to evacuate, there were areas of orange, so I knew the pumpkin was working its way through her system. At one point, I even fed her at least half a (3ml) syringe full of mineral oil, and instead of getting a nice, moist poop, my cat ended up with a greasy, orange hiney...apparently, I loaded her up with mineral oil right after a hit of pumpkin. Not only was I cleaning up orange stains wherever she chose to sit/sleep, she was NOT happy...AND worse, her evacuation eventually became less frequent, as did her urination.

I spoke with the vet again, and he determined that Miss Cleo was indeed constipated and needed another enema. (She had received an enema before at the vets, with sedation, but because of time constraints, this conversation occuring on Friday afternoon, the vet would not be able to sedate and evacuate Cleo again until Monday at the earliest.) So, I suggested performing the enema myself at home. (I do not necessarily recommend this, y'all!! Imagine your husband holding your large, EXTREEEEEMELY grumpy cat down while you try to carefully go where you have NEVER been before and never thought you'd ever go. Well, let me just put it this way....it was traumatic for all. 'Nuff said.) Let me just cut to the chase with this enema thing...it wasn't easy, it took a little time and patience, but I'm glad we did it. Miss Cleo had two bowel movements within about a half hour's time.

The vet also outlined a diet plan including a combination of lubrication, fiber, and probiotics. He also sent me home with some more prednisone. (She had already been on prednisone, but she wasn't really responding to the 1/4 pill I was giving her every other day, so the vet upped the dosage a bit to give her a kickstart.) He suggested mineral oil, psyllium and/or pumpkin, and plain yogurt. Off I went to Walmart to grocery shop for my cat, and here is what I learned.....the only psyllium I felt I could use was the 100% psyllium kind. That only existed in little capsules. Other psyllium fiber laxatives contain a sweetener, and most contained an orange flavor. (How can you hide ORANGE FLAVOR from a cat?!?) Thankfully, the capsules were the Equate brand, and bonus! - they were the cheapest option!! Since the capsules refuse to slide apart, I just cut off the end of a capsule to dispense the contents into the food. Of course, Walmart bites me in the butt by only selling plain yogurt in that large, quart size. (Really? No one wants a SMALL plain yogurt, Walmart??! Have you ever tasted that stuff?? Plain yogurt should ONLY come in small containers.) I had mineral oil and pumpkin at home, so they were not on my list. I can hear you now...."Okay, Shelly, get to the point. I wanna know how to fix my cat's constipation, dangit!"

Understand that during the day Cleo eats water-saturated feline Prescription C/D (hard food) and gets occasional teaspoons of canned C/D or A/D when she gives us that "I want something different" stare. HOWEVER, here's where I landed with Cleo's SUPPLEMENTARY diet.....

Each morning, she receives an assisted feeding of a heaping teaspoon of plain yogurt mixed with a few teaspoons of warm water, and half the contents of a psyllium fiber capsule mixed together very well (about the consistency of melted ice cream). I suck it up in the syringe, and try to convince Miss Cleo that this is the best-tasting stuff EVER while I dispense it in small squirts to the side of her mouth. (Ever had a yogurt shower?)

Every evening before I go to bed, Miss Cleo receives a teaspoon of canned Prescription A/D mixed with ~2/3 teaspoon of mineral oil, a couple of teaspoons of warm water, and the other half of the contents of the fiber capsule. I mix it together very well (thankfully, canned A/D becomes very smooth/creamy, and this mixture looks like slightly greasy gravy), and dispense as I did with the morning mixture. I follow this evening-time "supplement" with a full syringe of water. Yes, my cat hates me, but she must know that I love her, right??

We have been on the above routine for about a week. As of yesterday, she is consistently producing an almost daily pile of nice, healthy fecal matter...moist, but not runny at all...firm and formed, but not hard. I have not observed her while she is evacuating, she seems to do it in the middle of the night, but my guess is that she isn't working NEARLY as hard as she was. (Thank you, God!! When she was "working," it took great effort and about 2 minutes to produce one lump the size of a small grape.) And with the bowels adequately evacuated, her urination is consistent as well. I plan to keep up this routine, especially since it is one that will work nicely with my schedule once I go back to teaching after summer break....but do keep us on your kitty prayer list. :)

(If this ends up helping anyone, please do let me know about your experience!)

I think I have a coupon for that...

Wow! It's been a while since last I wrote! There are a couple of good reasons for that - I'm supposed to be writing a dissertation, and I've been couponing!

Inspired by the Extreme Couponing series on TLC, I gave it a shot. So far, I have a wonderful binder full of coupons, and since mid-May I've saved several hundred dollars off of retail cost!

The best feelings for me come from three main things: 1) having a nice, organized binder with all my coupons in their proper place; 2) getting free items; 3) finding items that make the store pay me to take them home!

I never realized how much I was spending on items. I never realized how much I could save on things that I use every week. I never realized how many new things I could try but that I was telling myself it was too expensive!

Here are some of the incorrect assumptions I used to make:

1. Store brands are ALWAYS the cheapest option.

Sometimes they are, but not always! When you group a store sale price, with a store coupon (if you can get it), with a manufacturer's coupon, you're in store for BIG savings on that name brand product! Compare prices post-coupon, though, and buy whatever is cheapest. The point is to save money afterall, right?

2. Buying the bigger package is cheaper.

Generally, buying the smallest size allowable when using a coupon will land you the most product for the least amount of money. The point is to get product without spending money. If you have a coupon for $1 off an item, and there are two choices - the small size that is $1.25 and the large size that is $3.50, which would you pick? Personally, I'd rather leave paying $.25 instead of $2.50. Since I often have more than one coupon, I can double or triple up on that $.25 product, and for $.50 to $.75, I can leave with as much product as one of the larger sizes that would have cost me $2.50. With a BOGOFree (Buy One, Get One Free) coupon, it's a personal thing. Do the math for yourself, and if you can afford one of the larger sizes to get the same size free, then go for it!

3. Trial sizes are just for travellers.

Closely reading you coupon is VERY important. If a coupon does NOT exclude trial sizes in its language, and you can find a trial size that meets the criteria of the coupon, get it! Oftentimes Walmart will sell a trial size item for $.97, and the corresponding coupon is $1 "any size" of that product. This means that you can add a $.03 credit to your total tab...in other words, you are getting paid to buy this item! BETTER THAN FREE!!

4. I'd better use this new coupon right now!

Manufacturers make coupons available at specific times. Most notably, they issue coupons for new products, and they want you to go out and buy them immediately! However, if you hold on to that coupon, chances are the store where you shop will eventually have a sale on that "new" item and may even issue their own store coupon. Reread #1!! Combine the sale price with a store coupon AND that manufacturer's coupon you've been holding on to, and you have one heckuva deal!!

5. Uh-oh...I need to use this coupon before it expires!

Just because you have a coupon does NOT mean you have to use it. It may be a great one, one that you were SOOOO looking forward to using, but if using it even ON its expiration date doesn't give you a cheap or free price, then let it go. The point is to save money, not just find a cheaper price. You can ease your frustration by mailing your expired coupons to a military shopper overseas....many are able to use expired coupons (up to 6 months expired) at their commissary store.

6. The only way I can really save is if I have a store that doubles coupons.

We have one higher-end, expensive store that doubles coupons up to $.60 daily and a dollar-type store that doubles up to the same amount only on Saturdays. Those are not stores where I usually shop, though. While I have not had the "extreme" coupon savings that I saw on TLC's Extreme Couponing, I HAVE saved money. I know that not everyone will be up for the time commitment of clipping coupons, organizing a binder, comparing store sales flyers, frequently visiting couponing websites, etc., but any savings is better than none. If you're into making a dent in your out-of-pocket, collecting a few coupons for products that you use regularly isn't time consuming or hard work at all....and if you have any leftover coupons, I'm happy to take them off your hands!

7. Crud, I'll never find a coupon for that product!

There are SO many places where you can get coupons. Sunday papers are great, especially if you can buy more than one copy, collect the Sunday coupons from friends and neighbors, track them down at coffee shops and libraries, dumpster-dive, etc. If you think you're only limited to your Sunday paper, though, think again.

There's a great monthly magazine sold at Walmart called All You. It has a nice mix of coupons from groceries to household to health and beauty. It was $1.88 the last time I purchased it, and it had over $50 of coupons inside.

There are coupon clipping services online where you can purchase specific coupons they have available for a nominal cutting fee plus a shipping/handling fee.

Lately, though, my favorite has been Ebay. Do a search for the product you use, i.e. "coca cola coupons," and you should have a list of auctions for small handfuls of coupons for your product. There are also Ebay sellers who will sell you an envelope full of random coupons. Search for "grocery coupons," and you'll be able to fatten up your coupon collection in no time and for very little money.

During your learning phase of couponing, you'll more than likely be reading an online forum somewhere. Chances are there are other forum registrants who are willing to trade/sell coupons, so search for what you want there. Also, several of the forums have a coupon database to search. Many of these coupons are internet-printable, so turn on that printer and get started! (Fair warning - most internet printables will only allow 2 prints. Multiple computers in your home, though, will net you more prints!)

Grocery stores GIVE AWAY coupons, too! And if you're not paying attention, you'll overlook them. What you sometimes notice as a red blinking paper-filled box, a pad of pages, small pieces of paper stuck onto products, or paper collars on bottles are, in the coupon world, referred to respectively as "blinkies," "tearpads," "peelies," and "hangtags." Take advantage of every one of these that you can find. You can use them immediately, especially the "peelies," or you can hang onto them for later. They are usually in fairly high demand because they are NOT found in the Sunday paper and not everyone has access to them. (Don't be greedy and steal them all, though. Do unto others, and share the wealth.)

There's so much to learn about couponing, but once you get the idea - and once you actually get out there and DO it - it's a lot of fun. The best part of it so far has been that for the first time in my life, I've picked up a hobby that does NOT cost me money!