Christmas is a little over a week away and as usual I’m struggling to get everything bought. This year I’ve decided to make several of my gives to my friends and family. I may end up being that person that no one wants a gift from next year but it is what it is. I made my wife and kids Christmas ornaments honoring my cat that just recently passed. I’m really hoping that everyone likes them.
My wife and I are still dealing with the loss. We’ve also noticed that our other cat, Sophie, has started acting differently. I think it’s her way of dealing with his absence and the solitude she experiences when we’re not here. We’ve talked and I’d like to go ahead and get another little kitten but we’re not sure how Sophie will respond. She “tolerated” Clyde and was not really the best of friends but they got along for the most part. I think my wife will eventually agree but it will take some time for her to come around.
This will be Clyde’s marker for his resting place. I’ve been real busy and haven’t took the time time to get the marker done. If the truth is known, every time I sat down to work on it I got upset and couldn’t bare to think about it. There is currently a little wooden cross that my wife placed there until I could get this made. Once I have the marker in place I think this will be the closure that I will need. I will place the marker tomorrow after I get home from my oncologist appointment tomorrow afternoon. Maybe the rains will have moved out by then.
I’m sure I’ll post again but in case I don’t, I hope everyone has a happy holiday and a Merry Christmas.
This has got to be one of the hardest posts I’ve ever had to write. Around 3:30 p.m. today, my buddy Clyde crossed the rainbow bridge.
The day began with the first sign that something wasn’t right. Every morning for as long as I can remember, Clyde would wait for me to get out of the shower. That was his way of letting me know he wanted to be picked up and placed on the bathroom sink so he could drink from the faucet—his little daily ritual. But this morning, he didn’t come.
Instead, I found him lying on the kitchen floor next to the air vent, his head down. When I reached down to rub his head, he didn’t give his usual loud purr. That told me more than anything that he just wasn’t feeling good. My wife mentioned that he’d eaten a little, but nowhere near his usual amount.
I had a craft fair to prepare for and some coasters I needed to get printed. Between the power going out mid-print and the rush to get everything finished, I didn’t get the chance to check on Clyde again before leaving. But once I arrived at the fair, I called home. My wife told me he had eaten a bit more and was lying at the end of our bed, where he always slept. Still, something in the back of my mind whispered that we might be nearing the end. I told my wife she should let our daughters know so they could come spend some time with him.
They did. And after helping me load up my things when the fair ended around 2 p.m., they headed home but didn’t stay long.
Around 3 p.m., my wife was watching the Alabama game from our bedroom. Clyde was asleep at the foot of the bed. He woke up, stood, and looked like he wanted to go somewhere but wasn’t quite sure how. He took a couple of steps toward the edge of the bed—and then fell over.
My wife picked him up and placed him gently on the floor, but by then, he was already gone. It happened so quickly. She ran to get me, but the moment I saw him, I knew his precious spirit had already left.
We called the kids and, while they drove back, I went to the backyard to prepare his resting place. When the girls arrived, they spent nearly an hour with him—crying, talking to him, soaking up one last moment with their lifelong friend. Then we placed him in a box with his favorite towel, his favorite toy, and one of his favorite snacks (that one was my daughter’s idea).
Clyde now rests behind the shed, and we plan to place a marker after we get home from church tomorrow.
If he had made it to January, he would have been 21 years old. These last few years were challenging for him—and for us. He was on medication twice a day and had completely lost control of his bowel movements. Our bed was lined with tarps and towels so he could sleep comfortably during the day, and we had to rearrange everything at night so the wife and I could still sleep without worrying. He loved sleeping between us, so we created a little system of towels to protect him—and us—from the inevitable accidents.
It wasn’t easy. But we did it for him. He depended on us, and we loved him.
Because of his declining health, my wife and I haven’t taken a vacation in more than five years. It didn’t feel right to ask anyone else to manage his care. Boarding him was completely out of the question. With his heart condition, the stress alone would have been too much.
Now, with his passing, a huge hole has been created in our lives. The routines, the sounds, the small rituals—all suddenly gone. It’s going to take time to heal, but we’ll get there.
What I know for sure is this: Clyde was loved deeply. And he gave us more love in return than we could ever measure.
I know—it’s been a minute since I’ve posted anything. Honestly, I don’t even remember what I wrote about last time, so forgive me if I repeat myself a bit.
My weight loss journey has finally leveled out—or at least I think it has. My original goal was 190 pounds, but I’ve actually surpassed that by almost 20. I weighed in this morning at 174 pounds and have been hovering there for several weeks now. That’s over a hundred pounds lost in total, which is still hard for me to wrap my head around sometimes. I’m pretty happy with where I’m at.
I don’t regret having the surgery one bit—if anything, I just wish I’d been able to do it sooner. That said, there are a few side effects I could do without. I get these hunger pains unlike anything I’ve ever felt before—sharp, deep aches around my stomach area that only fade after I eat. And since they removed my inflamed gallbladder during surgery, well, let’s just say I have to stay close to a restroom after meals. What goes in tends to come out quickly, and sometimes with little to no warning. Sometimes it’s 30 minutes, sometimes hours later—but when the tummy starts to rumble, it’s a do-or-die situation. I’ll let your imagination fill in the rest.
On a more personal note, my old buddy Clyde is still hanging in there. He’ll be 21 in January if he makes it that long. About a month ago, we found out he has a tumor on his liver. We don’t know if it’s cancerous, but because of his age, surgery isn’t an option. All we can do now is keep him comfortable and make sure his final days are filled with love. The vet couldn’t give us a timeframe, so we’re just taking things day by day. It’s tough to think about, and we’re trying to prepare ourselves mentally—but that’s easier said than done.
I’m still getting out on the river for some kayak fishing about once a week. I love it, but those 4 a.m. wake-up calls are brutal. I usually try to be on the water by sunrise to make the most of the day, and I’m typically done around 2 p.m. That’s a long stretch to be sitting in a kayak, but it’s peaceful out there.
As the temperatures drop, though, I’m not sure how much longer I’ll be able to keep it up. I’m chronically anemic and stay cold most of the time. Anything below 76 degrees is jacket weather for me. In fact, my thermostat is set at 76, and I still wear a jacket indoors most days. I have a trip planned for this Thursday, but the forecast says 43 degrees in the morning. I can bundle up, but once it warms up, I’ll have to stash my jacket somewhere—and space is limited in a kayak. The front compartment is out of reach when I’m seated, so it’s always a bit of a puzzle.
But hey, that’s life. I’ll enjoy it while I can—cold mornings, creaky joints, and all.
I’m also going to try to stay more active on here, share a bit more often, and hopefully regain some of my old followers—and maybe even find a few new ones along the way.
Feel free to ask me anything about my gastric bypass journey, my buddy Clyde, or my fishing trips. I’d love to share what I’ve learned and experienced. And if you’ve gone through weight loss surgery, have a special pet, or just want to chat about your own hobbies, I’d really enjoy hearing about them too.
On September 24th I weighed 206.6 lbs, down 54 lbs since April and down 75 lbs since January. Things are still progressing, slow, but still progressing. I’m averaging about 10 lbs a month. It’s been five months since I’ve had any sugary drinks or sweets. I do, however, drink what I call yellow-capped Milo’s tea. It’s sweetened with Splenda I think. The money I’ve saved just by not buying the soft drinks, Little Debby cakes has helped. Also, not having to take all the extra meds has reduced my pharmacy bill greatly.
Since my surgery, my breathing has improved 100 percent. I guess my lungs were being compressed by my stomach and since the repair, I can tell the difference. I’ve been trying to walk about an hour each day. This boot does make it more difficult though. I had to make an appointment with my orthopedic doctor the other day because my left foot’s ankle had swollen. I immediately contacted my doctor and made an appointment. I was so worried that I was about to go through the same thing with my left foot that I went through on my right. It was just an aggravated tendon, and he made some adjustments to my shoe insert.
I had lunch with some of the guys that I used to work with before I retired the other day. It was good to see them. When I was signed in one of my co-workers asked what I did with the rest of my body? None of them had seen me in over two years or before COVID-19 hit.
I’d like to thank everyone who took the time to vote for the picture of my cat Clyde. He made it to the semi-finals and didn’t make the cut. Clyde has been sort of puny as of late. He spent four days at the vet trying to get rid of a UTI. We hated to have to leave him because he does not do well being boarded. We did go and visit with him every day just so that he wouldn’t think that we had abandoned him. It was really tough seeing him on that last day because all he wanted to do was find an escape route. I’m glad to have him home again with us. I know he’s nearly 20 years old and I know he won’t be with us too much longer. Every day with him is a blessing. It will be hard when he does cross that rainbow bridge.
Living with a nineteen-year-old cat is like something I’ve never experienced before. Every day there’s something new with him. He’s part of the family so we feel that we have to deal with all of his issues, and I do mean issues.
Clyde has health issues. He has an enlarged heart; thyroid problems and he has high blood pressure. He’s on three different types of meds three times a day. Recently, he’s developed a weak bladder. When he goes into a deep sleep his bladder leaks wherever he’s lying. He has taken over our bed and we have to keep the bed covered with a tarp during the day to keep us from having to change the sheets. He sleeps 98% of the time. The only time he gets up is to go to the kitchen to eat. He’ll go to the bathroom and sit on the floor until someone walks in there and helps him on the counter so that he can drink from the faucet.
He is very vocal. He lets us know when his towel is wet so we can go change it. He has a routine, and he knows when it’s time for his meds because right after his meds he gets a hand-full of treats. He loves his treats. Taking the meds, not so much. In the above picture, he had just had his meds along with a hand-full of treats. He’s thinking that he didn’t have enough treats and wants more.
I’ve heard cats living up to 21 years. Knowing him, he’ll live long past that. He’s an ornery, old, grumpy cat.
It’s been since September since I’ve posted anything so I figured I’d do a little update on what’s been going on. First of all, I went to the dentist today and had some work done and I had to take a prescription pain pill to take care of the pain that I was in. So, if this doesn’t make sense, that’s why. As stated in my last post, I’ve retired. I can’t begin to tell you how happy I am about that. I get updates from one of my co-workers every once in a while and let me tell you when I get off the phone with him, it makes me so happy to think that I no longer work at that place. The management at that place has taken a turn for the worse and it seems that I left just at the right time. The stress that I felt while I was there is no more. That within itself is worth retiring over.
So, what is my plan since retiring? I’ve got several irons in the fire, none of which requires getting up and going to a regular job. I was blessed with an excellent pension and my 401k didn’t look bad at all either. I made an appointment before retiring with a financial planner and he told me that I had nothing to worry about. In fact, I got a little raise since retiring so I think we’re going to do just fine.
On most occasions, I get up with my wife when she gets up to get ready to go to work. I usually sit and talk with her while she’s eating breakfast. After she leaves, I usually take a shower and go to the garage and work on some woodworking projects. I take care of the laundry and try to have dinner cooking when my wife gets home from work.
Other things such as setting up my camera so that it can take pictures of the bird feeder have been another little project that I’ve been working on. It’s the simple things in life that make it interesting. My cats and I enjoy watching the birds in the morning while we’re sitting in the kitchen spending time with the wife while she’s eating breakfast.
On another note and this will be the last of this update for now. My cancer numbers are starting to look pretty good but on the other side of that coin, my iron levels have started to plummet. I’ve had to do two iron transfusions and had to have a colonoscopy and an endoscopy to find out where I’m bleeding out. Ulcers, I’ve got two bleeding ulcers. Another pill to add to my pharmacy list.
Thanks for taking the time to read and I’ll post again soon.
Hello, my name is Clyde. I’m a thirteen-year-old gray tabby. I weigh approx. thirteen pounds and I stay grumpy most, if not all of the time. I have a five-year-old step-sister whom I despise and do not get along with. I had a natural born sister but she died when I was about six years old. I didn’t like her much either because she never let me do what I wanted to do. She never let me talk and therefore made me depressed and I never purred.
I have two well-behaved humans. The female human is my go-to human. She is the one I get up in the mornings when I want to eat. I’m very dominate when it comes to food and therefore there is no sleep in days. She thinks that I don’t know when she’s awake and I get very pissed when she doesn’t get up right away. Sometimes so, that I pee on her special places. I believe she calls this “gifting”.
The male human is more accommodating. When he gets up and goes to the bathroom, I go in with him just to stand guard. You never know when the female human will come in and cause problems. He likes to pet me more than the female human. I sometimes like to get in a good petting but he needs to learn when enough is enough. I claw at him and sometimes I draw blood but he never learns
I do not, under any circumstances, like to be picked up, sit in anybody’s lap, strangers, loud noises or called fat. I’m big boned, not fat. I also do not like to take trips in the car, especially to the vet. This is when I “gift” more. I surprise myself as to the amount of pee I have in my bladder. I pee on the nurse, the vet, my female human, and the human’s bed when I return home. You’d think they’d learn not to take me to the vet but they haven’t yet.
I am Alpha. There is no one better or more important than me. If you don’t believe me, just ask me. There is nothing that goes on in my domicile that I don’t know about. Most importantly, if you piss me off, I will gift on something of yours. You may not know about it for weeks and when you do find out, the smell will be most alarming.
It takes a special human to put up with my personality.
First time in months since I’ve felt like picking up my camera. I walk into my bedroom and I see one of my four legged kids next to my bed. I go get my camera and he gives me this look. I wonder what he’s thinking?
Today’s photo is of one of our cats, Clyde. Clyde is a nine year old male and weighs about fourteen pounds. He is the master of our household, or at least he thinks he is. He will not let my wife sleep in. He will get on top of her and yell until she gets up to feed him. This usually starts around 6 am in the morning. If she stays in bed too long he will eventually leave a gift of pee somewhere in the house other than his litter box.
Clyde is one of two cats that live with us. His sister, Bonnie, died a few years back with a heart attack, or so the vet says. About a year later we acquired another female cat named Sophie, a cat with a completely different demeanor.
Grayfeathersblog 