Blogging. I’m finally taking the plunge.
October is the Vegan Month of Food, a month of crazed cooking and blogging as the online vegan community rallies together and shares photos and stories about their food and their lives. Every year I follow along wistfully, but this is my year. 2012 is the sixth annual Vegan MoFo, and I’m finally going for it. This is the year I will stretch my writing muscles, which have become puny and weak since college. This is the year I will stretch my cooking comfort zone. This is the year I will see if I *can* rather than allowing myself to believe I’m too busy, or not creative enough, or not a good enough cook to participate.
More to come.
noochtastic! 
Definitely looking forward to reading your blog during MoFo and maybe beyond that!
I just happened upon your story about Steve. I’m so sorry you lost your friend. My Frida was just diagnosed this weekend with restrictive cardiomyopathy and I feel lost. She’s home on meds but so different than she was. Any advice
Oh no, I’m so sorry. Restrictive cardiomyopathy is such devastating diagnosis for cats. I don’t know how your Frida was diagnosed or how sick she is… we were fortunate with Steve that he was diagnosed almost by accident (an episode of what turned out to be irritable bowel led to an abdominal ultrasound, where they found his heart condition) and he really didn’t have any extreme symptoms. But I have two pieces of advice for you, and even though they’re both pretty obvious I will share them anyway.
1.) Balance out quality of life with medications. If your vet is recommending aspirin or Plavix, there are absolutely no studies that show these medications make a real difference so really talk to your vet about whether or not they are right for your case. If you are pilling your cat two or three times a day and she hates it, you should evaluate whether or not the benefits outweigh the anxiety you are causing Frida. If you feel like the meds are worth it but she is difficult to pill, maybe look for a compounding pharmacist who can help transform the medication into a powder or a gel or even a treat so you aren’t forcing her to take meds she hates. Ultimately you have to accept that you can’t beat this diagnosis, so do your best to find a happy medium and keep her everyday quality of life good.
2.) Love Frida as much as you can every minute of every day. Always say goodbye when you leave the house and tell her you love her, and do all the little rituals that make you both smile (or purr) every single day. Live every day like it’s her last and make every single second count. Knowing you both enjoyed every day to the fullest really does help a little in the end. Sometimes the ones that have such a short time with us burn so much brighter!
And I have one bonus piece of advice that is really hard to share. If Frida throws a blood clot, which is what usually happens with restrictive cardiomyopathy, and you rush her to the vet with paralysis of her back legs be prepared to let her go. It’s a horrible and painful thing to happen, and even if your vet can pull your cat through once it will happen again.
My heart just breaks for you. We lost Steve 4 months ago and not a day goes by that I don’t miss him so hard it hurts. I’d give anything in the world to have him back, but the one thing that most carries me through was that once we got his diagnosis we made every minute together count. I’ve never met another creature that loved life and loved his family the way Steve did. I wish you and Frida as many happy and loving days together as you can possibly have. Let me know if there is anything I can do.
I’m looking forward to reading your blog during Vegan MoFo. You will do great. I did my first vegan mofo right when I started my blog as well. Happy MOFOing!
good luck!