I wasn't sleepy and stayed up researching cat pain control on Friday night, found that Gabapentin could be used on cats, and determined that I would ask my vet for some Gabapentin for Java. I was on his doorstep at 8:30 in the morning on Saturday. My enthusiasm is based on my experience with shingles, where Gabapentin was the only thing that worked, without any side effects that I was aware of, just the cessation of pain.

Well. It knocked him out, very sedated, I kept going in and waking him up to make sure he was okay. He was, and he was out this morning tottering around on his shaky hind legs on a smaller version of his appointed rounds of the backyard. I feel pretty terrible for kind of doing chemistry experiments on him, however well-meaning they are. I wish the zobaline would work faster. If I see him trying to sleep and he looks like he can't get into a comfortable position because his legs hurt, I can try much lesser doses of the Gabapentin or the buprenorphine (vet's suggested dose also knocked him out completely). My poor bunny. He is such a great cat. I realized a couple of days ago that I was together with Henry for 11 years. Java was the man of the house because I adopted him after I broke up with Henry and with Peter. 20 years with Java, my longest relationship that isn't family!

One of my theater going friends commented on FB that she's never known me without Java.

That is a wonderfully long relationship! It is so rare that we have our animal children around that long.

I'm glad your cat was able to get out and about for a little bit, Java Cat.

Today's shopping fail: I cannot find a teak (or other pretty-looking) shower chair with a back. I can find plastic shower chairs with backs, and I can find teak shower benches without backs, but a teak shower chair WITH a back does not seem to exist. And I don't know why. Plenty of other accessibility equipment has come out with pretty versions, because they realized that there's a market that doesn't want all their stuff to look "medical." Why has this not happened for shower chairs?

I found one in teal. (I just really hate the look of a lot of accessibility equipment. I understand that function comes before form, but, well, I use a sparkly purple walker, and I've experimented with washi tape on my splint and brace. There are some things that are done pretty well -- like all the OXO kitchen equipment -- but other things where it seems like no one even cares what the stuff looks like. I mean, for something that's as commonly needed as a chair for the shower, is it really that difficult to make it in a few different colors, to coordinate with the rest of the bathroom stuff?)

Java, thanks for that list you posted in Press, that's super helpful. Lots of kitty~ma for Java the Cat! It's wonderful he's been able to be with you so long.

Hil, that seems like a radical failure to fill a consumer niche. I hope you can find what you want.

Java, thanks for the cat food info - the phosphorus numbers are very handy because I put a pinch of calcium to Harvey's food to bind to the phosphorus. It'll come in handy guestimating which foods need more.

Harvey was the man of the house until we moved in with Daniel.

I found one brand that makes the shower chairs in a few different colors (I wanted purple, but they didn't have it, so I settled on teal), but nearly all the rest are just white plastic.

I started taking a new pain med last night, and I do feel a little better today. I'm not sure if it's the med or just a coincidence, but whatever, it's nice. (It's a drug that was originally an epilepsy drug, but they're now also using it for pain, because it disrupts the pain signals in the nerves, or something. My doctor thinks that I've hyperextended my ankle so often that it's irritated the nerves, and so the nerves are just sending constant pain signals even when there's no immediate reason for them to do that, so she's trying some medications that target nerve signals rather than targeting inflammation or other things like that..)

Where did you find the teal one?

I'm on day 12 of the whole30 diet. My pain and acid reflux are still much better, but I can still feel that a storm is coming in my joints a bit. And omg am I exhausted. I don't know if it's the diet or allergies or something else entirely but all I want to do is sleep. I'm waiting for ltc to finish lunch so we can both nap.