They go from chrysalid to butterfly very quickly, like a week or so, Heather. Could you bring it in now, while it's still eating? You can make a container for the edelweiss by punching a hole in a plastic leftovers container that you've filled with water - make the hole just big enough to accommodate the branch. Keep offering your cat new food if it wants to continue to eat, although it looks like it's ready to pupate. Do you have some type of container that you could cover with bridal veil material (for circulation) to put the cat/chrysalid and leftovers container in? You can secure the bridal veil material with clothes pins or a rubber band or whatever works. If you put the cat and leftovers container in a glass container (like an aquarium) or any other similarly slick container, then you'll need to put some sticks or other things for the butterfly to hang upside down on while it "hangs out" - they have to do this for several hours, so that their body fluids can move from their abdomens to their wings, and their wings can harden enough for them to fly. They can't get a grip on slick containers, especially glass. You could keep this container outside in a protected area, like on a porch, to keep ants from making a trail to the chrysalis - ants love chrysalids! Or, you could keep it inside in a warm room. Once the butterfly has emerged and its wings hardened, you can release it - you and your children will love it! MissSherry

That is great news. I wish you continued good luck with that issue as I know it can be a pain trying to change the behavior sometime.

Your new cat sounds wonderful. The most recent stray who adopted us is an Oriental mix. My husband was 100% against taking in yet another one, but now, 3 years later, they are best buddies. My husband is his human and he sleeps next to him every night, tucked into his arm. He sleeps on his desk while he is on the computer. He greets us at the door, fetches toys, talks a lot and is as playful as a kitten, a total clown. We call him the puppy-cat. :o)

Here's my favorite site for interpreting feline lab results. Click on the name of each lab value of interest, and it'll download a small pdf file that explains the primary implications of that particular lab value: lab value explanations If Ziggy dislikes the liquid al hyd that your vet provided, you can purchase it in a tasteless powder form that is easily mixed into food at the following link: aluminum hydroxide powder At the same website, you can purchase the needles that are most popular with CRF caretakers (Terumo Ultra Thin Wall 20 ga.). Terumo needles are considered by many (myself included) to be better manufactured and sharper than the Monoject needles that most vets use. The superior sharpness and smoothness of Terumo needles seems to be more comfortable for cats. The 20 ga. Ultra Thin Wall Terumos have a flow rate that is almost equivalent to the larger, more uncomfortable, 18 ga Monojects, as well. You can also purchase IV lines at the same site. In case you're not aware, you can purchase Ringer's very inexpensively by the case if you call around and price shop at your local pharmacies. You probably won't find any pharmacies that keep it in stock, but they should all be able to order it for you overnight. You'll just need a prescription from your vet. I can purchase a case of 14, 1000ml bags of Ringers for $23/case from my local Target Pharmacy. Lactulose and Miralax are both osmotic laxatives with similar action in the gut. Lactulose, however, may cause digestive upset in lactose-intolerant animals (which most cats are), whereas Miralax will not. Miralax, being a nearly tasteless crystalline powder, is MUCH easier to administer than Lactulose, as well. It is easily mixed into canned food and is undetectable to most cats. Like Lactulose, Miralax is a dose-to-effect drug, meaning that you can adjust the dose up or down to maintain optimal stool consistency. But like Lactulose, Miralax is only effective in a properly hydrated animal, which is one more important reason to be consistent with subQ fluids. From your description, I have to assume that Ziggy is responding to your husband's nervousness during fluid admins. If I were you, I would kindly dismiss your husband from fluid duty and handle it yourself. It's also extremely important to warm the fluids before admins, as room temp fluids can badly chill a cat and make him extremely uncomfortable. If you'd been using room temp fluids on Ziggy and just recently started warming them, he may still be anticipating the chill of unwarmed fluids. Just give him a little more time to trust that he'll be getting a warm internal shower instead of a cold one from now on. I have found that the less restraint I use, the more cooperative my cats are during fluid admins. I do admins on diningroom chairs by a large window. I use my body and the chair backs to block the cat's movement off of the chairs without actually having to hold the cat, while the window helps to distract the cat a bit during the admin. I'll post a pic of my setup if you'd like to see it. It's very common for CRF cats to have problems with excess stomach acid, so many of them do take an acid blocker. As I noted earlier, Pepcid AC is the most commonly used med for this purpose. I use Zantac 75, instead, because it has fewer potential drug interactions than Pepcid. But Zantac is a pain in the neck to cut into 1/8's. I don't know of anyone who uses Prilosec, which is why I'd be very interested to know why your vet chooses to use it. If he knows of any studies of Prilosec's use in CRF cats, I'd love to read them. We CRF caretakers are always on the lookout for potential improvements in our management protocols. Laurie