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Tuesday, March 13, 2018

Rilu

This is Rilu.  Rilu is a male orange tabby about a year old (according to the vet).  We got him in December and were told he was a teenager. No one knows how old he is.  He LOVES to be held. He purrs a lot.  He's extremely soft.  His meow is like the high pitch sound of air being let out of a balloon.  LOL  He lets you give him kisses (even on his shaved belly) and he loves to plop on your chest when you are in the recliner. He's very good natured and he was sick.

In the photo he is basking in the sun and warming his shaved belly on the heat vent in the dining room.  He's been pretty good through all of this except when they had to take his temperature (twice) he cried.  I would too.  That's not a nice place to take a temperature.  You would think by now that they would have some type of thing they can take it though their ears.  But we managed to make it through that too.

Rilu had a trip to the vet and then immediately to the animal hospital.  He had ultra sound, hence the shaved belly.  They x-ray at the vet showed something in his intestines.  The ultra sound showed it was possible inflammation of the intestines.  He was fine until we had to take him in to be neutered and shots.  He started throwing up after that.  Then he started to get better and 3 weeks later he had to have a booster shot . He began to get sick again.  He couldn't keep anything down.  That's when we took him in.  So now he's being treated for inflammation of the intestines with prednisone.  It's not fun giving a cat a pill. It's not a big pill but with a cat it doesn't matter what size it is.  We put the pill in his mouth and held it shut until he swallowed.  And we let go and out comes the pill.  After several tries we managed to get it down.  The next day the pill was broken in half and wrapped in a piece of shredded deli chicken from the local Cub Foods store.  He swallowed it without chewing.  Pilling suddenly became easier!  Yay. He's on the road to recovery. He's back to jumping on the counter and the table and the entertainment center.  All the places he's not suppose to go.  I now have mixed feelings about that.  Doing it means he's healthier but doing it is gross!!

I often get asked about his name.  I tell people that Rilu is Swahili for "Get off the damn table".  But it's really a combination of two words.  Riley, because living here he will have the life of Riley (I'd like to learn more about this guy Riley and find out who he was and how he lived. Apparently he lived well) and the lu part comes from the word Lucky.  Ri and Lu for Rilu.  

So tonight I will not be posting a card as Rilu wants to be held and cuddled.  I will be spending my evening with him.  I will post tomorrow.  I do like to post daily but sometimes more important things come up.

Thank you for understanding.  
Wanda


3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Love orange cats! "The Life of Riley" was a comedy radio show in 1940. Then a feature film was made in 49. What it's mostly known for was as a popular television show that ran from 1945-1949.
Sure telling my age on this one!
Judi M

Shirley said...

I rarely leave comments on blogs(I've been following you for some time now too). But I just had to tell you I love your cats name! He's beautiful. I hope he feels better soon! I do enjoy all your cards. Your very talented and I love that you give details about your cards and not just a picture. Hope you have a wonderful day!

Kathy Bolam said...

I am an animal lover, too, so I understand that family members take priority. And yes, it is so hard to give a cat a pill. Used to have to wrap my cat in a towel to keep her from escaping! Sounds like Rilu is recovering and will provide you with many years of companionship.