1001 LOW FAT VEGETARIAN RECIPES https://blog.dnevnik.hr/1001-low-fat-vegetarian-recipe

I caught this photo of him by saying the word "dinner!" Nothing perks him up like that word. He is always hungry. His name is Cochka (pronounced "coach-kah"). That is the Czech word for "cat". And yes, he's a boy, although Cochka sounds like a girl's name.

Cochka is our first cat. We adopted him as a 3-month old kitten from a shelter when we lived in State College, PA. He had been placed there by a young couple who had changed their mind or perhaps not fully done their research into having a pet. His original name was Max. Sometimes I say "Max" just to test if he still recognizes his old name. He doesn't. He knows he's Cochka.

Cochka is almost 15 years old and has been chronically ill for about the last 8 years. He has some kind of irritable digestive tract problem, which makes him throw up multiple times every few days. We didn't know what to do for several years. We just kept running to the vet for rehydration practically every month when he couldn't keep food down for 3 or 4 days. We did ultrasounds, bloodwork, x-rays. We switched vets. We found a better vet who suggested steroid pills. So I gave him a daily steroid pill for many years. I was the only one who could get it down his throat. When we went on vacation, we had to board him at the vet so they could administer the pill, which was also expensive. But after about 4 or 5 years of that, the steroids finally took their toll: they killed his insulin regulation and Cochka became diabetic. We stopped the steroids immediately and put him on insulin injections. The diabetes went into remission, but we had to find a different drug for him to help control the vomiting. Our vet suggested trying an experimental drug; that was really a dog drug. It didn't really help, and it was ridiculously expensive, over $100 a month. We kept him on that for over a year. Cat medicine and vet visits had long become one of our regular budgeted items, just like car and medical insurance. We started calling him "our million-dollar kitty." I do not want to know how much we've spent on this cat over the course of his life.

Early in 2011, I forgot to give him his daily "dog pill" for about a week. I noticed he wasn't doing any worse without it. So we decided to stop giving him drugs altogether which incidentally saves us a ton of money. He's been hanging in there. He throws up for a couple of days and loses about a pound, then eats like a maniac and gains back a pound (that's about 10% of his weight!). So he is on a kind of yo-yo diet which can't be great for his little system.

He weighs about 8 – 10 lbs. depending on the week and how much he's been able to keep down. He should weigh 13 – 14 lbs. like he used to when he was young and healthy.

Our home life is a constant battle against piles of cat vomit and patches of clear spitup. We run around with cleaning rags almost every day and try to find his latest messes. Washing the floor feels like a hopeless endeavour, as it will just get fresh vomit on it within a day or two.

So yes, he is difficult to live with. I get very stressed out by the constant mess and lack of hygiene. Many, many times have I thought about having him put down. We have gotten an estimate for his euthanasia from our vet. She is willing to come to our house so he can die in his habitual surroundings. That day will come. But I can't do it. Not yet. He still has a great spark and joy for life. His skinny frame and big eyes and ears make him look like a kitten. He is affectionate, playful, and happy most of the time.

I posted this on my blog and I want to post it here, because Flickr Friends you have been awesome!

Finally Finding Me...
This post has been long and coming. I am happy to be able to finally post it. Lots of you guys have been here from the beginning. You have watched me go to hell and back. You have watched me as I left my marriage, sold my home, quit my job, lost weight, discovered myself, experienced my first year back at school full time, an entire year of holidays alone, an entire year single, an entire year of traveling, experiences, and finally finding out how much I love me. There were so many years that I was married that I lost myself, that I allowed myself to be abused and mistreated. That I believed I was worthless and would never amount to anything. I am glad to say that girl is gone, that girl is not going to appear again, this girl is confident, happy, and loves herself knowing that she is a great woman that has endless potential.

In less than a month it will be an entire year since I have seen my ex husband. I have not seen him in close to 12 months and each month that gets closer to a year is easier. I miss him, I miss him alot, I miss the guy that I know he can be, I miss the man I wanted to spend the rest of my life with what I don’t miss is the man he was and the man I was married to. I don’t miss that guy at all and I remind myself of that still today, because for some reason the good, the non reality of it all creeps into our minds overshadowing the truth, the bad, the reasons I left.

Moving last month was by far the best thing I have ever done. I needed to be independent again. I needed my own house, my things, and my freedom back. Living with family for a year was incredible, it helped me recover, it helped me get to where I am today. I will always be grateful for everything my family has done for me. Today I am finding myself happy and healthy. I have an incredible business that is more of a hobby than a job, I have a great schedule at school with awesome classes, a great Nanny position, and am surrounded by incredible friends and family.

Over this past year I have had people that were in my life that no longer are, such as my ex, his family, people I considered friends who turned out to not be a friends but more of judgmental and incredibly selfish people.

Thank you to all of you that have been here for me and supported me. It is about time that these posts are about happiness.

I have been to hell and back and I finally see the sun, more days are happy than sad. Life is how it should be. Life is good!

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