a biggles update

it's been a while since our fur-baby has been on the blog. mrs. bigglesworth is about sweet sixteen now. the boys who found her named her, though john and i find "madji" to be a more fitting name now for a cat who flounces about like a queen.=)

ms. madj is doing well despite her health issues. as i mentioned before, in the fall of 2009 we learned she was in the early stages of renal failure. she also has arthritis in her hind leg. her kidneys are expressing toxins through her ears so she's deaf and has uncomfortable ear gunk. poor lil thing.

after many frustrating and painful trips to the vet, we decided to go the natural route. conventional vets seem to be so out of touch with senior cats, at least the ones we visited. they were all so rough with her! none of them considered her age or weak kidneys and pressured us into a rabies shot, which i politely declined each time as i knew her system couldn't handle a vaccine. two vets also misdiagnosed her ear gunk as ear mites and irresponsibly prescribed medication, though both times the tests for mites came back negative. sheesh! who gave these people a license?!

about a year ago we found madj's anal glands needed expressing and wanted a groomer to do it externally. in order for her to be seen, they needed proof of a rabies shot, so we caved. we also allowed the vet to express her anal glands internally - two terrible choices. it was gut-wrenching to see her in so much pain. she got so sick from the vaccine, but thankfully bounced back after a few days. that's when i said enough is enough and began researching alternative vets in the area.

car trips are torturous on account of her leg, so we were grateful to find a homeopathic vet a few towns over who offers phone consultations. dr. dym recommended natural supplements and feasible remedies for her health issues, and most importantly, encouraged us to just do our best to keep her comfortable in her twilight years.

dr. dym directed us on how to change her diet from fancy feast to pet guard, a natural brand he trusts and which ms. finicky finds to be tasty. when she won't eat her food we sprinkle a little nutritional yeast on top and she goes to town.

ms. madj also has a love for coconut oil. she begs for it and prefers the 'tree of life' brand. she turns up her nose to other brands, the sweet little snoot she is.=)

biggles loves playing with little yarn toys i made. though she sleeps most of the day, she's got some spunk left in her and wakes us up every morning, anywhere between 3 and 6 am. if we don't rise right away, she will stand up on her back legs and smack the blinds, knock everything off the nightstands, walk back and forth on us, and tap our faces. she's even knocked a jar of water from our headboard onto my head! she's lucky she's so cute!