The Fat Cat, the Mad Mare, and Other Health Issues

            Aging is an interesting adventure, but someone is looking out for me.  Right before I left, a filling and part of a front tooth parted ways and only by a miracle was I able to get that fixed before hitting the road.  This week, two molars released their (very) old amalgam fillings and one fractured. While I had planned ahead and found a veterinarian, I had not considered having to identify a dentist.  Thanks to Google reviews, I located one with stellar ratings who fit me in.  Fast forward to 2.5 hours in the chair as they placed not one, but two temporary crowns in preparation for permanent crowns.  So, now I have a dentist.  Thank goodness for Delta Dental, which covered 90% of the cost.

            Galatea was scoped this week because her behavior suggested that she might have ulcers.  So, no food after 6 p.m. the night before.  The look on her face when I removed the hay from her stall was priceless.  Good thing the vet came at 8:30 the next morning because the mare was not happy.  Now, this was not just any vet, this was a vet from Rood and Riddle’s Wellington office.  Rood and Riddle is possibly the premier equine veterinary practice in the states.  So, a routine physical first revealed that the mare has (developed?) a second-degree AV block with a slow heart rate??!!  However, because it is regular it is nothing to be concerned about and upon starting exercise the upper and lower chambers of the heart synchronize.  Apparently, it is more common in horses than appreciated.  On to the endoscopy.  Passing an endoscope into the stomach went fine and sure enough there were some mild changes.  However, it was impossible to get through the pyloric region into the hindgut because she has a mass of tissue there. Whaaat?   It shouldn’t be there and it is not clear what it is, but it could have been a factor in the gastric impaction she suffered 2.5 years ago.  So, we are treating her proactively for hindgut ulcers as well as stomach ulcers. Could this mare get any more ‘special’?

Bob has bounced back and is his normal sleek self.  However, it has become clear that Otto is very much overweight.  So, in addition to walking him on a leash, I am going to have to find a way to restrict his food while not depriving Bob. Right now we can make it about half a block before Otto collapses in protest and, as only cats and small children can do, suddenly weighs twice as much and has to be carried home.    

And, yes, I am enjoying looking out the front window of the house in Iowa City with my Ring camera while the snow flies today and then casting my eye out the screened-in porch here in a balmy 73˚F.  You have my sympathies.