Varda update

I got the call from the Vet yesterday afternoon, and the numbers weren't good. Last time whatever it is that they test for was at 4.2, this time it has risen to 5.1. The Vet said that her blood pressure was still higher than it should be in spite of the medicine. He thinks that the transdermal gel just doesn't work as well as pills. Since she won't take pills without a lot of misery for both of us, he said keep up with the gel because it is probably better than nothing.There is one more thing he mentioned that we could do -- even though she seems well hydrated, any extra fluids to flush out the kidneys are a good thing. So he wanted me to bring her back and have a Vet Tech show me how to give her fluids through a needle under the skin. Since I had yesterday off, I put her in the carrier again and set off, feeling bad for having to subject her to a car trip and Vet's visit twice in one day.The Vet's office is on the northwest side of town, and I also had to pick up her prescription on the northeast side of town. Besides, I hadn't had lunch yet. So I decided there wasn't much for it besides subjecting her to a longer car trip than usual. She's pretty sedate in her carrier but she meows some and I know she doesn't like it.The only fast food on the way to the Vet's was Taco Bell and Long John Silver's. I opted for fish, and wolfed down one piece in the car with a few french fries before it was time for the appointment.The Vet Tech showed me how to do everything, and I payed attention, but since I've never done anything like that before I'm not sure how well it will go. I'm supposed to give her 100 ml of fluid every other day through the skin on her back. She did ok with the needle, only growled a little bit, but I could see her potentially freaking out, so I'm a little nervous. Once she was back in the carrier, the Vet Tech said, "oh, I probably should have let you practice putting in the needle to make sure you can do it ok." At that point, I agreed that I could use a chance to try it myself, but I hated to drag Varda out and subject her to more poking, so I told her that I could have Stephan's daughter E. (who works as a Vet Tech) coach me.I'm not sure Varda will take to this new procedure, but Stephan and I agreed that if she could take it relatively calmly, we'd do it. If she freaks out and it makes her life miserable, it isn't worth it. It's hard with pets because you can't explain to them that this will make them better if they see it as being tortured for no good reason.When I got Varda back in the car, I opened up her carrier and fed her the second piece of fish, bit by bit, with the breading torn off. She ate just about the whole thing, which I was glad to see. Heck, as little as she weighs now I'm happy to give her a treat if she will eat it. Since we still had a while in the car, I decided to try leaving the door of her carrier open, so she could come out and wander around the car if she wanted to. I wasn't sure if that would make her more or less happy about the trip. She did quite a a bit of exploring, some of which involved crawling around under my seat. I had to nudge her out of the way a couple of times to make sure no part of her was between my foot and the brake. At one point she stood up on her hind legs on the floor of the passenger side, put her front paws on the dashboard, and peered out the window. I can't say she enjoyed the trip; Varda and cars have never mixed. But it didn't seem to freak her out, and I suppose she got to satisfy a bit of curiosity about just what WAS this strange thing she gets put in to go to the doctor!When she's not sleeping, which is a lot, she acts just about as kittenish as ever, rubbing on our legs and doing what we call a "flop." This is where Varda refuses to let you pet her where she is, but runs onto the rug in the front hallway in the hope that you will follow her. Then, she lets her legs give way and falls over onto her side (flop!). Then you're supposed to rub her tummy. I suppose she has us trained pretty well.Varda's not the smartest cat; she's something of an airhead. She's always been some mix of sweetness and chaos. In her old age, I think the chaos has declined to about 5%. Though she's not naturally a trusting cat and hides when we have guests over, she will let me hold her in the crook of my arm with her back against my arm and her legs pointing up. She has the softest, tiniest little purr, but very rewarding to hear.I do have to remind myself not to mourn her yet. She's not likely to get any better, and is likely to get worse. But with any luck, she'll be with us and still feeling ok for a little while longer.