Gentle readers, please do me a personal favor. Don't withdraw money from your employer-sponsored retirement plan account unless you have a really, really good reason to do so.
Medical bills (and I don't mean bills for elective plastic surgery)? OK.
Impending eviction or foreclosure on your home? Fine.
Post-secondary education costs? Sounds good to me.
BUT...
Remodeling your kitchen?
Going on a vacation and need some extra pocket change for that roulette wheel in Monte Carlo?
Buying Christmas gifts?
Please.
And if you're 22 years old, do me another favor. Don't stick all your savings into a money market fund that earns 2.5% per year.
Why not? Because the rate of inflation is around 3% per year. Do the math. If you're only earning 2.5% a year in a money market fund, and inflation is 3% a year...I got news for you: you'll NEVER be able to retire.
Instead, invest your money in a good index fund and don't even think about it for the next 35 years.
/end public service announcement
In My HeadMonday, July 31, 2006
I sometimes feel like an anomaly because unlike most people I encounter, who brag about how much they spent on various things, I tend to be more vocal about how much I SAVED on my purchases.
I am a bargain shopper, and I wear that badge with pride. I never, ever, ever pay full price for anything. Well, except for food--when it comes to shopping for groceries, I usually overspend because I cook a lot of different recipes. I often wish I had the discipline, time, and inclination to clip coupons from the tons of mailers I get for food products, but I don't.
Otherwise, unless something I want is on sale, I won't buy it. I haggled back and forth with the Toyota dealer on the internet and scored our SUV, brand-new and including all the options we wanted, for less than we ever thought possible. I only buy clothes or shoes when I have special coupons for the stores I like. I even buy most of my perfume on the cheap from eBay. Sure, sometimes the bottles come to me without caps, but who cares? No one sees it but me, and as long as it smells good, capless perfume bottles don't bother me a bit.
As I mentioned earlier, I often feel like the odd girl out in my quest for bargains. Maybe it's the geographical area in which I live and work. Every time I hear "Main Line" I just roll my eyes and groan (no offense, Mainline Mom--I'm not referring to you, and you're not really from the Main Line anyway). The Main Line is a cluster of suburbs that extends west of Philadelphia along the "main line" of the old Pennsylvania Railroad, which is now Route 30. It's an extremely upscale, old-money, WASPy area. I guess it's comparable to Westchester, NY or the Magnificent Mile in Chicago. And don't forget the King of Prussia mall, only fifteen miles from my house and three miles from my office. It's the second largest mall in the US, I think, and it's chock-full of designer stores. This is a place where people dress to the nines just to go shopping. It's ridiculous. Ugh. I avoid that place like the plague.
Many of the people I interact with on a daily basis are snobs, quite frankly. They always find opportunities to work into conversations how much they spent on their gigantic home theatre systems, their McMansions, their Land Rovers, and their black leather boots. I find all of this totally shallow and in very poor taste. I suspect that most people who do this are overcompensating for character flaws or other perceived shortcomings--the whole I-act-superior-because-I-truly-feel-inferior deal. It's so transparent. I feel the same way about people who constantly name-drop brands. Give me a fucking break.
But after thinking about all of this, I've come to the conclusion that maybe my disdain for people like this makes me a reverse snob. The funny thing is, most of the people described in this post are not from the old-money families of Philadelphia. It's the nouveau-riche types (or the wanna-be nouveau-riche) that are the most conspicuously obnoxious around here.
Thoughts?
I am a bargain shopper, and I wear that badge with pride. I never, ever, ever pay full price for anything. Well, except for food--when it comes to shopping for groceries, I usually overspend because I cook a lot of different recipes. I often wish I had the discipline, time, and inclination to clip coupons from the tons of mailers I get for food products, but I don't.
Otherwise, unless something I want is on sale, I won't buy it. I haggled back and forth with the Toyota dealer on the internet and scored our SUV, brand-new and including all the options we wanted, for less than we ever thought possible. I only buy clothes or shoes when I have special coupons for the stores I like. I even buy most of my perfume on the cheap from eBay. Sure, sometimes the bottles come to me without caps, but who cares? No one sees it but me, and as long as it smells good, capless perfume bottles don't bother me a bit.
As I mentioned earlier, I often feel like the odd girl out in my quest for bargains. Maybe it's the geographical area in which I live and work. Every time I hear "Main Line" I just roll my eyes and groan (no offense, Mainline Mom--I'm not referring to you, and you're not really from the Main Line anyway). The Main Line is a cluster of suburbs that extends west of Philadelphia along the "main line" of the old Pennsylvania Railroad, which is now Route 30. It's an extremely upscale, old-money, WASPy area. I guess it's comparable to Westchester, NY or the Magnificent Mile in Chicago. And don't forget the King of Prussia mall, only fifteen miles from my house and three miles from my office. It's the second largest mall in the US, I think, and it's chock-full of designer stores. This is a place where people dress to the nines just to go shopping. It's ridiculous. Ugh. I avoid that place like the plague.
Many of the people I interact with on a daily basis are snobs, quite frankly. They always find opportunities to work into conversations how much they spent on their gigantic home theatre systems, their McMansions, their Land Rovers, and their black leather boots. I find all of this totally shallow and in very poor taste. I suspect that most people who do this are overcompensating for character flaws or other perceived shortcomings--the whole I-act-superior-because-I-truly-feel-inferior deal. It's so transparent. I feel the same way about people who constantly name-drop brands. Give me a fucking break.
But after thinking about all of this, I've come to the conclusion that maybe my disdain for people like this makes me a reverse snob. The funny thing is, most of the people described in this post are not from the old-money families of Philadelphia. It's the nouveau-riche types (or the wanna-be nouveau-riche) that are the most conspicuously obnoxious around here.
Thoughts?
Labels: bitching, money, Philadelphia, shopping
Posted by Lori at 7/31/2006 11:31:00 AM
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Monday, March 20, 2006
Sorry I haven't been posting much lately. Things have been so terribly hectic for me. Mainly because I have been spending ALL my free time at the gym.
I have to go nine more times in the next eleven days in order to get the reimbursement that Brian's health insurance gives me. The deal is that each of us will receive $150 from Aetna if we visit the gym at least 120 times in a 365 day period. It's actually very EASY to go to the gym 120 times in a year, if you think about it. That averages out to about three times a week. That's not exactly grueling, Olympic-caliber training.
I enthusiastically began on April 1, 2005. On Tuesday and Thursday evenings, I took High-Definition Training, which was a small group class led by a personal trainer that focused on heavy weight lifting. So just taking that class for ten weeks guaranteed that I would be at the gym twice a week, at the very least. On two or three of the days I didn't take the class, I did cardio either on the treadmill or the bike. I was a good girl. A good, STRONG girl.
The class ended in mid-June. I continued to lift by myself faithfully for the remainder of the month, as well as doing the normal treadmill thing. I felt like I was on top of the world.
July came, and we began looking at new homes and put our house up on the market. At that point, chaos ensued. I was frantically trying to keep our house spotless at all times in anticipation of walk-throughs by potential buyers. That took up a lot of my time and energy. Plus, we spent many evenings after work meeting with our realtor and looking at prospective new houses. We'd get home, exhausted and hungry, and the gym routine pretty much fell to the wayside.
We found a house fairly easily, and our own townhouse sold after about a week on the market. Still, we faced the prospect of cleaning out all our junk and getting ready for the move. If I made it to the gym ONCE a week during this time, it was a miracle.
In August, we moved into our new house and started doing some work on it immediately (painting, new countertops, new appliances, etc.). OK, I'll admit it: I don't think I visited the gym more than twice in August. Shame on me.
September arrived and I began studying HARD for an exam that I wanted to take for my job. If I passed it, I'd get a $750 bonus. You can imagine what happened to my gym time.
In October, I finally felt like balance had been somewhat restored to my life. I began going back to the gym on a regular basis. But I was bored. However, my sense of boredom was superseded by the sensation of my pants getting tighter. Hee. There's nothing more motivating (for me, anyway) than a closet full of clothes that are beginning to fit improperly, or worse, not fit at all.
Unfortunately, the holiday season began shortly thereafter, and time was again at a premium. Of course, it didn't help that there were the usual heaping plates of goodies at every turn. Cookies, candy, cakes, booze, high-calorie meals, oh my! Between April 1 and December 31, I had only logged 84 visits to the gym. Eighty-four stinking times in 39 weeks. Totally pathetic. I knew I'd have to make a BIG comeback. I was going to get my $150 reimbursement, dammit!
January 1 came and I was...SICK. With strep throat and a high fever. Despite my best intentions to hit the gym with a revitalized fervor on New Year's Day, I didn't go. Probably best that I stayed home. Within a week, though, I was back in action on the treadmill! Also, as you read last week, I have begun weight lifting again. And I'm awfully sore but loving it nonetheless!
As of last night, I have logged 111 visits. I probably would have reached the 120-visit goal by now if I hadn't gotten deathly ill again in late February. That was completely unexpected, and it set me back about a week. But the clock keeps ticking. I won't be able to go tomorrow night because my boss is taking a few of us to the Flyers/Penguins game after work. So technically, I need nine more visits in ten days.
Eeek!
I have to go nine more times in the next eleven days in order to get the reimbursement that Brian's health insurance gives me. The deal is that each of us will receive $150 from Aetna if we visit the gym at least 120 times in a 365 day period. It's actually very EASY to go to the gym 120 times in a year, if you think about it. That averages out to about three times a week. That's not exactly grueling, Olympic-caliber training.
I enthusiastically began on April 1, 2005. On Tuesday and Thursday evenings, I took High-Definition Training, which was a small group class led by a personal trainer that focused on heavy weight lifting. So just taking that class for ten weeks guaranteed that I would be at the gym twice a week, at the very least. On two or three of the days I didn't take the class, I did cardio either on the treadmill or the bike. I was a good girl. A good, STRONG girl.
The class ended in mid-June. I continued to lift by myself faithfully for the remainder of the month, as well as doing the normal treadmill thing. I felt like I was on top of the world.
July came, and we began looking at new homes and put our house up on the market. At that point, chaos ensued. I was frantically trying to keep our house spotless at all times in anticipation of walk-throughs by potential buyers. That took up a lot of my time and energy. Plus, we spent many evenings after work meeting with our realtor and looking at prospective new houses. We'd get home, exhausted and hungry, and the gym routine pretty much fell to the wayside.
We found a house fairly easily, and our own townhouse sold after about a week on the market. Still, we faced the prospect of cleaning out all our junk and getting ready for the move. If I made it to the gym ONCE a week during this time, it was a miracle.
In August, we moved into our new house and started doing some work on it immediately (painting, new countertops, new appliances, etc.). OK, I'll admit it: I don't think I visited the gym more than twice in August. Shame on me.
September arrived and I began studying HARD for an exam that I wanted to take for my job. If I passed it, I'd get a $750 bonus. You can imagine what happened to my gym time.
In October, I finally felt like balance had been somewhat restored to my life. I began going back to the gym on a regular basis. But I was bored. However, my sense of boredom was superseded by the sensation of my pants getting tighter. Hee. There's nothing more motivating (for me, anyway) than a closet full of clothes that are beginning to fit improperly, or worse, not fit at all.
Unfortunately, the holiday season began shortly thereafter, and time was again at a premium. Of course, it didn't help that there were the usual heaping plates of goodies at every turn. Cookies, candy, cakes, booze, high-calorie meals, oh my! Between April 1 and December 31, I had only logged 84 visits to the gym. Eighty-four stinking times in 39 weeks. Totally pathetic. I knew I'd have to make a BIG comeback. I was going to get my $150 reimbursement, dammit!
January 1 came and I was...SICK. With strep throat and a high fever. Despite my best intentions to hit the gym with a revitalized fervor on New Year's Day, I didn't go. Probably best that I stayed home. Within a week, though, I was back in action on the treadmill! Also, as you read last week, I have begun weight lifting again. And I'm awfully sore but loving it nonetheless!
As of last night, I have logged 111 visits. I probably would have reached the 120-visit goal by now if I hadn't gotten deathly ill again in late February. That was completely unexpected, and it set me back about a week. But the clock keeps ticking. I won't be able to go tomorrow night because my boss is taking a few of us to the Flyers/Penguins game after work. So technically, I need nine more visits in ten days.
Eeek!
Posted by Lori at 3/20/2006 05:00:00 PM
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Wednesday, March 08, 2006
No, you dirty birds, not THAT "O" word...I'm talking about organic food!
One of my New Year's resolutions was to reduce the amount of processed foods that we eat. Since then, I've switched over to buying as much organic food as possible. Our local Genuardi's supermarket recently introduced their house brand, called "O Organics" that is very reasonably priced and widely available as substitutes for many types of food. For example, if you were to open my pantry today, you'd see the following organic foods:
tomato paste
tomato sauce
macaroni and cheese
pasta
ketchup
chicken, beef, and vegetable stock
canned veggies
And if you opened my refrigerator, you'd see organic eggs, milk, cheese, butter, yogurt, and fresh vegetables.
The only thing I haven't switched yet is fresh meat and poultry. I'm still searching for the best prices on this stuff, because it is REALLY expensive at the supermarkets I patronize. This morning on my loooong commute to work, it occurred to me that perhaps I should contact some of my local farms to see if their livestock is raised without hormones and antibiotics. It would be even better if the livestock was free-range or cage-free.
There are three major reasons why I've switched to organics. First of all, organic food is thought to be healthier than foods that have been treated with pesticides, hormones, antibiotics, or have in any way been genetically engineered or tampered with. There's been a lot of research indicating that organically-produced foods contain less toxic nitrates and higher concentrations of vitamins and minerals than conventionally produced foods.
Second, I personally believe that organic food tastes better. Of course, this could be simply the power of suggestion at work. Perhaps someday (when I'm truly bored) I will conduct some kind of double-blind taste tests to prove my theory.
Third, products from animals who were raised in an organically friendly environment makes me feel better. I swear I'm not some kind of covert PETA member, but if I have to eat animals, at least I know they enjoyed their lives before ending up on my dinner plate. That the hens who produced the eggs in my omelette are allowed to wander freely and weren't injected with growth hormones or antibiotics to increase the size or production rate of their eggs. That the cow who is now my medium-rare filet mignon could freely feed in a huge pasture, and wasn't miserably confined to a barn for its entire life.
I would love to hear from others about this. Brian thinks I'm a little crazy (that is, when he's not bitching to me about the higher grocery bill), but to hell with him! Do you think organic food is the wave of the future, or just the trendy thing at the moment?
One of my New Year's resolutions was to reduce the amount of processed foods that we eat. Since then, I've switched over to buying as much organic food as possible. Our local Genuardi's supermarket recently introduced their house brand, called "O Organics" that is very reasonably priced and widely available as substitutes for many types of food. For example, if you were to open my pantry today, you'd see the following organic foods:
tomato paste
tomato sauce
macaroni and cheese
pasta
ketchup
chicken, beef, and vegetable stock
canned veggies
And if you opened my refrigerator, you'd see organic eggs, milk, cheese, butter, yogurt, and fresh vegetables.
The only thing I haven't switched yet is fresh meat and poultry. I'm still searching for the best prices on this stuff, because it is REALLY expensive at the supermarkets I patronize. This morning on my loooong commute to work, it occurred to me that perhaps I should contact some of my local farms to see if their livestock is raised without hormones and antibiotics. It would be even better if the livestock was free-range or cage-free.
There are three major reasons why I've switched to organics. First of all, organic food is thought to be healthier than foods that have been treated with pesticides, hormones, antibiotics, or have in any way been genetically engineered or tampered with. There's been a lot of research indicating that organically-produced foods contain less toxic nitrates and higher concentrations of vitamins and minerals than conventionally produced foods.
Second, I personally believe that organic food tastes better. Of course, this could be simply the power of suggestion at work. Perhaps someday (when I'm truly bored) I will conduct some kind of double-blind taste tests to prove my theory.
Third, products from animals who were raised in an organically friendly environment makes me feel better. I swear I'm not some kind of covert PETA member, but if I have to eat animals, at least I know they enjoyed their lives before ending up on my dinner plate. That the hens who produced the eggs in my omelette are allowed to wander freely and weren't injected with growth hormones or antibiotics to increase the size or production rate of their eggs. That the cow who is now my medium-rare filet mignon could freely feed in a huge pasture, and wasn't miserably confined to a barn for its entire life.
I would love to hear from others about this. Brian thinks I'm a little crazy (that is, when he's not bitching to me about the higher grocery bill), but to hell with him! Do you think organic food is the wave of the future, or just the trendy thing at the moment?
Posted by Lori at 3/08/2006 09:37:00 AM
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Friday, January 20, 2006
I am a generally happy person. Don't get me wrong -- I've had spells of depression, and there have certainly been times when I didn't think anything was going right in my life. But for the most part, especially in the past year or so, I've been pretty content. I believe that most of my happiness depends on me. I don't look to other people or things to make me happy.
I remind myself often of all the things for which I am grateful. I do this almost daily, not just when I'm feeling down. It keeps things in perspective for me and helps me keep a good attitude about life.
Briefly, and in random order, I'm grateful for:
A job that I truly enjoy and look forward to going to almost every day (for the first time in my adult life!).
My wonderful, supportive husband who really loves me and who makes me laugh every day.
My parents, who think I am wonderful and who would do anything for me. It's great to be at an age where we have a true friendship.
Good health. This makes me feel immeasurably fortunate, because I know and have heard about so many people who suffer with various physical problems.
A few close friends who love me, whom I trust, and with whom I am completely comfortable being myself.
My two kitties, Bailey and Sebastian, who wake me up every morning by licking my face, and greet me every evening after work by rolling around on the floor and purring. They make me so happy!
A beautiful home where I feel safe and secure.
Two functioning vehicles -- especially my Highlander, which I plan to drive until it completely dies on me.
Enough money to live comfortably.
Music. I just couldn't imagine living without it.
Everything else is gravy, as far as I'm concerned.
Have a happy weekend!
I remind myself often of all the things for which I am grateful. I do this almost daily, not just when I'm feeling down. It keeps things in perspective for me and helps me keep a good attitude about life.
Briefly, and in random order, I'm grateful for:
A job that I truly enjoy and look forward to going to almost every day (for the first time in my adult life!).
My wonderful, supportive husband who really loves me and who makes me laugh every day.
My parents, who think I am wonderful and who would do anything for me. It's great to be at an age where we have a true friendship.
Good health. This makes me feel immeasurably fortunate, because I know and have heard about so many people who suffer with various physical problems.
A few close friends who love me, whom I trust, and with whom I am completely comfortable being myself.
My two kitties, Bailey and Sebastian, who wake me up every morning by licking my face, and greet me every evening after work by rolling around on the floor and purring. They make me so happy!
A beautiful home where I feel safe and secure.
Two functioning vehicles -- especially my Highlander, which I plan to drive until it completely dies on me.
Enough money to live comfortably.
Music. I just couldn't imagine living without it.
Everything else is gravy, as far as I'm concerned.
Have a happy weekend!
Labels: deep thoughts, family, friends, marriage, money, music, pets, weekends, work
Posted by Lori at 1/20/2006 02:16:00 PM
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Friday, December 02, 2005
Sorry I haven’t been around lately. It’s been a difficult week.
First of all, this coming Monday, I am taking a very difficult exam in order to get credentials for my job. I have been studying for this exam for months, and though I know deep down that I’m pretty well-prepared, I am still a nervous wreck. I hate tests.
Then, last night I took my older cat, Bailey, to the vet. He’s been acting weirdly for the past several months, and I figured he should be checked out. He’s lost weight, seems listless, and no longer plays with his brother (our other cat Sebastian) anymore. He just kind of mopes around and has no energy.
Trying to get this cat into his carrier to go anywhere is an ordeal. It took Brian and I about ten minutes, working together, to secure Bailey in his little crate. Bailey doesn’t like car rides, nor does he like the vet (does any cat?), so the fur was definitely flying…his little legs kept splaying all over the place as we tried to stuff him in his cage. At one point, I just started laughing hysterically, much to Brian’s annoyance. It was a pretty funny sight!
We finally got Bailey settled into his cage, and although he was yowling very loudly, we got to the vet’s office without further incident. I put Bailey on the scale, and learned that he’s lost more weight than I’d thought: in April 2003, he was 11.7 pounds, and last night he weighed only 7.4 pounds. Which means he’s lost around 60% of his total body weight. Not good.
The vet examined him as I described his symptoms. She immediately thought it might be diabetes, because I’d noticed he was drinking slightly more water than normal. So she took a glucose sample, and it came back normal, which was a relief. His temperature was normal, his heart rate was a little elevated, but probably due to his vet anxiety, but she commented that his fur seemed dull and a little flaky. She also remarked that he was moderately dehydrated, so she gave him some IV fluids. She took some more blood and a urine sample (and I have no idea how she did that) and sent us home.
This morning, she called and said that everything looked normal from the blood test, except his kidney function was elevated. She was still waiting on the results for the thyroid panel, though, and thought that it could be hyperthyroidism. We won’t know that until later. Then she recommended that we leave him there at the vet’s office for the entire weekend for IV fluid therapy, which costs $400. At which point I nearly fainted.
I said, “Well, after that, then what?”
She said that they’d do an x-ray to rule out any obstructions or other problems. She seemed to think that the kidney issue was indicative of some other problem, and not necessarily a kidney problem itself, because she mentioned that his urine was still very concentrated (whatever that means) and that it was a good thing.
So instead, I told her we’d bring him in again tonight for the x-rays, to look for the problem right away. As much as I love this cat, I just can’t see blowing $400 on IV therapy for the weekend and then spending $150 for the x-rays on top of it. Why not just get the x-rays out of the way first?
I have no idea what to think now. I’ve been doing research all day here, trying to figure out the problem. Unfortunately, many health problems share the same symptoms: lethargy, increased thirst, moodiness, vomiting (which he’s been doing intermittently for months), depression.
The two issues that keep coming up in my research are chronic renal failure and hyperthyroidism. However, the chronic renal failure stuff indicates that most cats lose their appetite…which is not the case with Bailey! He has remained interested in food, and especially his treats, so no problems there.
Now I am completely stressed. I thought that I’d be spending this weekend doing some final preparation for the DC-1 exam, and maybe some Christmas decorating, but it seems that I now have other obligations.
Bailey is our first cat. We adopted him from a rescue just a few months after we got married. He is really the best cat I’ve ever had, and I’ve had many in my life. He’s a real lap cat who loves all and any kinds of human interaction. In fact, many times it’s almost as if he WERE human. He sits on the empty chair next to us at dinner every night—not begging for food, just to keep us company. He sits on the bathroom vanity every morning while I shower and get ready for work. He sleeps with us every night. He lays on my lap as I work on the computer at home. Sometimes, if he’s feeling really affectionate, he grooms me…he licks my hair and nits it with his teeth. He just wants to be around us all the time. If something is seriously wrong with him, we’re going to have to make some hard decisions, and I just don’t even want to think about it right now.
Thanksgiving was good, by the way. The food turned out fine and everyone enjoyed themselves.
First of all, this coming Monday, I am taking a very difficult exam in order to get credentials for my job. I have been studying for this exam for months, and though I know deep down that I’m pretty well-prepared, I am still a nervous wreck. I hate tests.
Then, last night I took my older cat, Bailey, to the vet. He’s been acting weirdly for the past several months, and I figured he should be checked out. He’s lost weight, seems listless, and no longer plays with his brother (our other cat Sebastian) anymore. He just kind of mopes around and has no energy.
Trying to get this cat into his carrier to go anywhere is an ordeal. It took Brian and I about ten minutes, working together, to secure Bailey in his little crate. Bailey doesn’t like car rides, nor does he like the vet (does any cat?), so the fur was definitely flying…his little legs kept splaying all over the place as we tried to stuff him in his cage. At one point, I just started laughing hysterically, much to Brian’s annoyance. It was a pretty funny sight!
We finally got Bailey settled into his cage, and although he was yowling very loudly, we got to the vet’s office without further incident. I put Bailey on the scale, and learned that he’s lost more weight than I’d thought: in April 2003, he was 11.7 pounds, and last night he weighed only 7.4 pounds. Which means he’s lost around 60% of his total body weight. Not good.
The vet examined him as I described his symptoms. She immediately thought it might be diabetes, because I’d noticed he was drinking slightly more water than normal. So she took a glucose sample, and it came back normal, which was a relief. His temperature was normal, his heart rate was a little elevated, but probably due to his vet anxiety, but she commented that his fur seemed dull and a little flaky. She also remarked that he was moderately dehydrated, so she gave him some IV fluids. She took some more blood and a urine sample (and I have no idea how she did that) and sent us home.
This morning, she called and said that everything looked normal from the blood test, except his kidney function was elevated. She was still waiting on the results for the thyroid panel, though, and thought that it could be hyperthyroidism. We won’t know that until later. Then she recommended that we leave him there at the vet’s office for the entire weekend for IV fluid therapy, which costs $400. At which point I nearly fainted.
I said, “Well, after that, then what?”
She said that they’d do an x-ray to rule out any obstructions or other problems. She seemed to think that the kidney issue was indicative of some other problem, and not necessarily a kidney problem itself, because she mentioned that his urine was still very concentrated (whatever that means) and that it was a good thing.
So instead, I told her we’d bring him in again tonight for the x-rays, to look for the problem right away. As much as I love this cat, I just can’t see blowing $400 on IV therapy for the weekend and then spending $150 for the x-rays on top of it. Why not just get the x-rays out of the way first?
I have no idea what to think now. I’ve been doing research all day here, trying to figure out the problem. Unfortunately, many health problems share the same symptoms: lethargy, increased thirst, moodiness, vomiting (which he’s been doing intermittently for months), depression.
The two issues that keep coming up in my research are chronic renal failure and hyperthyroidism. However, the chronic renal failure stuff indicates that most cats lose their appetite…which is not the case with Bailey! He has remained interested in food, and especially his treats, so no problems there.
Now I am completely stressed. I thought that I’d be spending this weekend doing some final preparation for the DC-1 exam, and maybe some Christmas decorating, but it seems that I now have other obligations.
Bailey is our first cat. We adopted him from a rescue just a few months after we got married. He is really the best cat I’ve ever had, and I’ve had many in my life. He’s a real lap cat who loves all and any kinds of human interaction. In fact, many times it’s almost as if he WERE human. He sits on the empty chair next to us at dinner every night—not begging for food, just to keep us company. He sits on the bathroom vanity every morning while I shower and get ready for work. He sleeps with us every night. He lays on my lap as I work on the computer at home. Sometimes, if he’s feeling really affectionate, he grooms me…he licks my hair and nits it with his teeth. He just wants to be around us all the time. If something is seriously wrong with him, we’re going to have to make some hard decisions, and I just don’t even want to think about it right now.
Thanksgiving was good, by the way. The food turned out fine and everyone enjoyed themselves.
Posted by Lori at 12/02/2005 03:48:00 PM
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