Couch 235: Home State Advantage

He’s still not home. I’m quickly losing hope, and am a total wreck.
Thanks, QM.

Oh no...I hope he returns home soon... Hugs if wanted...

In my experience (a lot of cats in over 60 yrs) - one day is not long for a cat who has escaped. I wouldn't give up hope for at least a week. I can't tell you how many times a cat of mine has gone out for a few days. We have even had visiting indoor cats who escaped (more than one but luckily each time their owner was the one who let them out -not me or not us) and the cats all came back except one who was not healthy and my grandmother said she thought he had gone off like animals can do when they are about to pass. Give it a few days. If you live in a neighborhood with garages - you might check to see if the cat has accidentally gotten stuck in someone's garage. If you have a neighborhood facebook page, tell them -around here at least - that galvonizes people and pets have been found like that.

I understand it is upsetting, but I would give the cat a week or so before abandoning hope

I really hope your cat returns soon, Velcro. Hugs if wanted.

You're paying for his time and you are entitled to your full allocation. It's not petty to want or feel upset by his behaviour. The restless in session would be distracting and make it hard to focus on you.You don't have to take care of him.

I think dragging by it out for as long as he has ,he has done you a disservice and left you in limbo which is just hurting you more then if he had fixed an end date and counted down to it. His current go with the flow and see what happens non plan doesn't let you grieve the end of this relationship and work through those feelings .

Thanks SD for the reality check. It is just SO hard. It is below freezing outside, and he hasn't eaten anything since Friday evening. He is already underweight, so it worries me a lot.

I miss him so much.

Hugs if wanted, NP. You deserve your full session time. I understand your wanting to cancel. I hope you hear something back soon.

Plus his being unsure about whether he'll continue being a therapist after his program--it's not fair to leave you in limbo.

Well Rascal's brother Stormy is on his way to the vet, h is taking him in. He hasn't done #2 in several days and we're starting to be concerned. We started giving him some of the laxative 2 days ago that the vet had recommended when Rascal had that issue but it hasn't done anything yet so they told us to drop him off and she'd check him between surgeries today and call us. He's old (going on 15) so it may just be an age thing or not we won't know til she checks him out. I read that beyond 72 hours you should contact your vet so that's why we called and they said to bring him right in.


In other news H has to see a cardiologist about a heart murmur that just showed up at his recent physical. We're waiting for them to call and schedule that. And the part of our overtime at work that had been removed, was added back, and on top of that they extended the 2 hours OT per day for another 2 weeks. I am not sleeping very well again either ugh. So I decided I'm going to call L just to check in on Friday, I was going to wait 3 months til I did but eh, 2 months is okay too. I think just talking to her briefly without even mentioning any of the above (which I won't) will get me centered again at least that is my hope. I'm in a weird place of not wanting to go back to therapy with her, but not wanting her to forget me. I'm telling myself that's normal and probably to be expected after our long time 'together'. Whether it is or not.

Well break is over. Back to work with me.


Hugs and head nods all around. I'm gonna make some time this evening to get caught up on the couch.

I hope you're feeling better, @@. it seems weird for her to send a check-in message on her portal instead of like a text or something more immediate.

mental health days are necessary i think. i've used my pto for that reason for sure. in fact that's what my upcoming vacation day on 2/20 is for. Hugs if wanted.

haven't heard anything yet from the vet. i imagine it will be later this afternoon before we do, since she's squeezing him in between other appts.

eta right after i typed that she called. she said on external examination he got very upset with her so he probably has a blockage and they're doing xrays first to check. if that's clear then she'll do labs to check for other stuff. I hope he's okay. I'm not ready to lose him this soon after losing Rascal.

Well the good news just keeps coming. Meh. I'm on break now but a little bit ago at work we got an email from our Supervisor advising us that since no one volunteered to do.............

edited. i should stop talking about work details.

I'm sorry, Artie. That sounds ridiculous, especially in a field like yours. Sounds like no-one volunteered because it's a pain in the neck...and then some. This seems like a scenario where more work would actually make you less productive?

Yeah, I wonder why no one volunteered for that? Sounds stressful to me. As well as high potential for error.

And a hipaa violation. How can you be dealing with 2 clients at the same time? Unless they are like me and put YOU on hold while they go find their medicare card or something.

But wow - unless you had two physically separate machines, i think this is illegal. It is not secure. Unless there are SERIOUS protocols in place, which i would think would take up more time than it creates.

Whose dumba idea was this, i'd like to know!!!

And just to say - i used to BEG my bosses for an additional signon, so i could double my work, and they thought i was being shifty. So its not like its something i am against in principal. But i think your clients are not going to be happy to have to assure you of who they are all the time.

Well, I haven't heard from the vet again and they close in 30 minutes so it looks like they will be keeping Stormy overnight. Sad and worried.

I have my appt with my new GP tomorrow. I need to find my flying squirrel costume.

Vet just called, they're keeping Stormy overnight. We should have results tomorrow morning from the labs but right now she's suspecting it's pancreatitis.

Hugs, Artie, hope your cat is OK.

Thanks, LT.

I got my February Mindful Souls box today, so that was definitely a bright spot in the day! There's a raw citrine necklace, a rose quartz pendulum, blue goldstone bracelet, jade hair comb, amethyst stone, and nag champa incense. The incense smells incredible. I think it will help me fall asleep tonight without even having to light it, the scent is pretty strong as-is. It's supposed to reduce stress and improve focus which I could definitely use. I'm going to work with the pendulum a little this evening. I've been in love with every box so far. I may have to keep it another month haha!

I hope it goes well, una.

Ooh Mean Girls is on. Must go drink wine and watch.

Artie I think you should get the box for another month as a treat for yourself for tolerating all this overtime. I don't know how you do it.

My baby is still gone. It is getting harder and harder to get through the day.