Goodbye to Koshka

Last Wednesday my cat Koshka died. She was 18 1/2 years old, and I got her when she was a kitten. I have essentially lived my entire adult life with her. She was also in increasingly poor health, and I started to think she was dying about four years ago. It became clear last week that she was really and truly dying. We were able to have a veterinarian come to our house and help her die peacefully at home with all of her human family present, and our other cat Maddy nearby. It was as positive as it could be, and I am sad and also a bit relieved that she had a good death.

Here are a couple of photos from just before she died:

And one from April when she was healthier, basking in the sun:

Visit

We were lucky to have a visit from Jeff’s sister and her daughter (age 6). Maren and her cousin had quite a fun time together. Linden had a pretty good time with them too.

One update that I haven’t shared yet is that we think Linden has allergies. Her initial blood test came back showing that she has slight allergies to dairy and eggs, and a moderate allergy to peanuts. However, what we have observed is that she seems to have stronger allergy to dairy. We have given her peanut butter several times with no reaction. But we have seen some clear reactions to dairy. So are waiting to see a paediatric allergist, and will likely have an appointment mid January. But, we are cutting eggs and dairy from all of our shared meals. Maren still eats dairy, drinking milk and having some cheese, but since we were vegetarian already and have now cut out dairy and eggs, Jeff, Linden, and I have gone vegan.

It is something that Jeff and I had talked about doing eventually, for ethical and environmental reasons. Linden’s allergies have been the push that sent us over the edge. It has been easier than I anticipated. There are lots of vegan products available, and good recipes. I was most concerned about giving up ice cream, but I have found that coconut-based and cashew-based ice creams are really quite good. We are not clear yet whether this is a complete change or just a “mostly” change, but I think we will definitely be eating almost exclusively plant-based foods no matter what. It feels right to us :-)

Teething

Linden is getting teeth. Unfortunately it is slow, and she is obviously in a lot of pain. She is chewing on everything and has unfortunately been biting me. So we have had a bit of a trying week but here are some super cute photos to make up for it 😊

Pulling up to standing to get to big sister’s toys.  She doesn’t really have the skills to do this yet, so luckily I caught her as she fell. 

Linden has never been interested in a soother/pacifier, but likes them to chew on while teething. 

Winter is here

The cold and snow are here to stay. I went out for a trike ride today, and ended up turning back into an alley when I got to an open area where it was windy. It was just way too cold! However, I am super happy to be able to be outside every day no matter the weather.

We are all trying to get out every day. Some photos and a video from the week:

Eight months!

Linden is eight months old! About a week and a half before her eight month birthday she started moving forward, and the day before she turned eight months old she started crawling. Our little baby is getting big.

It was also Halloween. Maren dressed up as a vampire and Jeff did too. I was supposed to dress up as a vampire but ended up not really dressing up at all. We had a fun time. Unfortunately, the snow came early and there was snow on the ground for Halloween. So we only had about 220 trick-or-treaters 😊

An exciting update that I haven’t had a chance to share is that my trike has been modified in such a way that I can really use it in all conditions, including snow. It is much easier for me to ride than it was before, and I have put on a snow tire. I have been riding it just like I would go for a walk. I feel so much more free, I can get around more easily, and I can get exercise more easily. It is really pretty amazing.