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

I've never seen in cracked. Not in any house Ive ever looked at. That's an installation error. And heated tile floors are dirt cheap! I have a tiny bath, I'll admit. But we had to remove the subfloor and ceiling and move walls. My materials were: $1k Maax jetted tub with heater and sound package. $1.25k vanity, granite top (my mistake--chose black--don't do this), medicine cabinet, IKEA cabinet in toilet niche, standing cabinet $800 plumbing fixtures: shower panel, diverter, tub filler, sink faucet $200 solid core two panel raised door $550 tile Toilet was already new. $350 frameless doors $200 hydronic towel heater $350 light fixtures $200 floor heat Drywall, subfloor, joint compound, green glue, cement board, red guard, primer, paint, mortar, leveling compound, grout, caulk: $1250 Plumbers: $1500 across two bathrooms My hourly friend: About the same Electrician: $350 across two bathrooms Finish work guy: going to hit $2k before he's done. I did about $1500 worth of work, too. So I definitely lowballed above with two for $12k, even not counting my work. $10k master--second bathroom I did way more work on, and the materials were quite a bit cheaper, so it works out to $6k--hired out, it would have been more like $8k. My first master bath ever I did for resale. It was WAY bigger, 18' by just over 8', but I chose the cheapest, nicest looking, well-built neutral materials I could get. So it was right at $10k in today's dollars, too. An addition: The foam insulation for the attic that was exposed was $1300. (Only way to reach recommended R value with our construction.) I also used it in the master bath walls and all around the cantilevered rim joist when we tore out the lower floor, so accounting for that is tricky. I also got to use the next door neighbors' extra dumpster space in return for helping her go through her basement. That saved a lot.

I like the idea of buildings on 3 sides of a sheltered space with a wall with access gates on the 4th side. I might split the enclosed space into hard surface access to the garage and the other part outdoor living area. You could use a retractable gate or a swinging gate with an electric opener to control access with a parking spot on the outside for guests and service vehicles I have been in a couple of courtyard homes in my area which were built in the late 60s, early 70s. I like the idea but mostly the courtyards are on the small side, probably 150 to max of perhaps 300 sq ft. I like the courtyards found in many cultures where all the buildings open onto a central area with access to the public through a single opening. That sort wouldn't work for you as typically there are some openings between the buildings. You might have some issues with local authorities depending on the rules for distance between buildings. Your architect should know how the area views such setups.

If this is a more dense urban neighborhood, then it may be buyers won't be expecting privacy. Where I live, Ive been thinking more in terms of an enclosed garden-patio space, with a few strategically placed privacy fences and I think I'm going to build a pergola type thing over small deck and grow vines for privacy on that side of the house. But my neighbors are only 2 stories - 4 stories is worse cos then you have all those people looking down on you from up above - yikes. Im not sure what youd do about that. A tall tree with a wide canopy that you can walk around underneath would be good, but even a fast growing tree like a poplar takes a while to get very tall.