About 2 weeks ago Zoe was showing signs of a respiratory illness so Janet took her to the vet who did some tests. The forst result said that she might have FELV which is normally only transmitted from cat to cat, so we thought this very difficult to explain. However a second test was negative for that, but her thyroid function test was very high which could also explain her symptoms as well as some others that we had not taken too seriously- like occaissional vomitting. The treatments for high thyroid in cats are not very many. Our cat, Cary, who died at age 18 in 2004 was diagnosed as high thyroid at age 11 and we gave him daily doses of medication to keep it under control, but his was not a very bad case. It was difficult to always give his medication. Most cat owners know how hard it is to give pills. We found a vet and pharmact that would give the medication in a sort of paste that could be rubbed in his ear and then the medication was absorbed through his skin. It seemed to work pretty well, but was tedious.
Another alternative that was starting the gain favor back when Cary was diagnosed was radiation treatment- very much like in humans. We were a little wary of that at the time.
In Zoe's case, the thyroid function values is very high- indicating a more serious problem than Cary had so we decided to have the radiation treatment. She went to a vet on Tuesday the 22nd of Nov. to have a screening test done and then injection of radioactive iodine. She has to stay at the vet for at least a week until the radiation levels come down and then we have to keep her at a little distance for another 2 weeks or so after she comes home.
The vet has webcams set up so the owners can watch the cats from home and we have checked on here many times over the past 2 days. We are sure that she feels quite anxious being in a strange place without her family around, but hope that tshe will be much better for the long term after her treatment.
Thursday, November 25, 2010
Monday, November 8, 2010
Sleet! ....and Snow!
We were not too happy to return to New York late in the year due to the colder weather and shorter days, but we have managed. However, today, we have gotten some sleet and a little snow! This is a little early in the season to get this, though the years are highly variable in this respect. It was pleasant to see a little snow- something we came to miss- just a little- in Bangalore. Having just a little is ok.
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Ah! The Sunday Times!
One of our great pleasures in the past was to be home on Sunday morning with the NY Times. We got to re-live that experience today for the first time in 2 years. While the size of the newspaper has shrunk noticeably since we went to Bangalore in 2008, the experience still is pleasing!
In Bangalore we also enjoyed relaxing Sunday mornings by reading the newspapers and listening to "Sunday Baroque", but this is the real thing!
In other news, Jim picked up his new car yesterday- he has a Honda Accord now. The purchase of this was arranged through email from Bangalore and a few telephone calls and then one short visit to the bank! Is this a great country, or what?
Janet got a new Iphone, which is "intuitive" to use, but neither her intuition, nor Jim's seem to align with the device maker's intuition. Jim got a SIMM card for the phone he bought and used in India and is trying out the service in our area with it. In the past we found that the best coverage was from a company which used CDMA rather than GSM (or whatever) that most of the world uses, so we have to see how well this works.
We are all still feeling quite jet- lagged- with only slight improvements each day. We feel very tired by 8PM, wake up early in the morning and then go back to sleep for awhile.
In Bangalore we also enjoyed relaxing Sunday mornings by reading the newspapers and listening to "Sunday Baroque", but this is the real thing!
In other news, Jim picked up his new car yesterday- he has a Honda Accord now. The purchase of this was arranged through email from Bangalore and a few telephone calls and then one short visit to the bank! Is this a great country, or what?
Janet got a new Iphone, which is "intuitive" to use, but neither her intuition, nor Jim's seem to align with the device maker's intuition. Jim got a SIMM card for the phone he bought and used in India and is trying out the service in our area with it. In the past we found that the best coverage was from a company which used CDMA rather than GSM (or whatever) that most of the world uses, so we have to see how well this works.
We are all still feeling quite jet- lagged- with only slight improvements each day. We feel very tired by 8PM, wake up early in the morning and then go back to sleep for awhile.
Saturday, October 30, 2010
First meal out and shopping
On Thursday we went to one of our favorite restaurants for dinner. They serve Mexican style food that is very good. In Bangalore we found one restaurant near our apartment which had reasonably good Mexican food. We also drove the car a few times on Thursday and it seemed quite natural though Jim had not driven in 2 years and Janet only for the few weeks she was home in April- May. Most of the rest of the day was spent unpacking our bags and sorting mail.
On Friday we went to three large stores to get lots of cat food, some repair items for the house and food for ourselves. This was all quite expensive compared to what we were used to paying in India, but we marveled at how we could find everything we needed in 3 stops and had choices too! Much of the rest of the day was spent sorting more mail and doing chores around the house that had not been done for awhile- like change water filters and clean the refrigerator underneath and inside.
Ziggy and Zoe seem to be adjusting to being home. They have jet lag too, but are seeming to be adjusting slowly.
We both sense it will be a few weeks before we feel close to normal.
On Friday we went to three large stores to get lots of cat food, some repair items for the house and food for ourselves. This was all quite expensive compared to what we were used to paying in India, but we marveled at how we could find everything we needed in 3 stops and had choices too! Much of the rest of the day was spent sorting more mail and doing chores around the house that had not been done for awhile- like change water filters and clean the refrigerator underneath and inside.
Ziggy and Zoe seem to be adjusting to being home. They have jet lag too, but are seeming to be adjusting slowly.
We both sense it will be a few weeks before we feel close to normal.
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Back Home!
We arrived back home about 4:30PM NY time On Wed. Oct. 27 about 26 hours after picking up the Z's at our Apartment in Bangalore and dropping off the key with the landlord. There were still a few unfinished tasks there- like a number of bags of cat related items to be donated to the local animal cruelty prevention society. Our driver- Joseph is supposed to help take care of that, but the landlord may help too.
The ride to the airport was uneventful. The Z's were not happy, but they never are happy about traveling away from their home. At check-in we were very surprised when they told us that any carry-on bag had to weight less than 8 kg (17.6lbs) and they had us weigh them. Both had to be that heavy or more and they insisted that Janet's had to be made lighter even though Jim's probably weighed more- very strange. They also said it was ok to have more than 2 carry on items but they each had to weigh less than 8kg- also this seemed odd. In any case, we got through that and ended up transferring items to Jim's already heavy bag in case of any future checks- which, never occurred. Going through immigration was easier than expected. Our wait for boarding was not bad. Ziggy and Zoe were relatively peaceful. Once on the plane we dreaded the possibility that Zoe, especially would be loudly vocal, which she can be when unhappy. She did keep up a low level of noise, but not enough to be too disturbing to anyone except Janet- since Zoe was at her feet. We did try to give her a tranquilizer pill at one point, but are not convinced she got it. Anyone who has tried to "pill" a cat knows that the probability of success is not nearly as high as we wish!
We arrived in Frankfurt where they never seem to be prepared for the plane arriving from Bangalore, and had to get off the plane is surprisingly chilly temps. and walk to a bus that was already full, so we took the second one. In the terminal we asked for a porter to help with the bags and cats and they said there are none around and their phone was not being answered. They sent us to a place where they give assistance to passengers, but they said they only have wheel chairs and not enough people to handle those! So we went back and started the long walk to the other terminal. They told us we "might" find a luggage cart along the way. The advantages of cheap labor- like in India became clear here. There would have been a few people around hoping to help us with our bags in India. (we had 2 at check-in, but it is true that once inside the secure area it was harder to find people).
At Frankfurt we had to go through security again, which was equally painful as in Bangalore. We had to take Ziggy and Zoe out of their carriers and everyone loved seeing them! They were the stars of the show! We wanted to go to the business lounge and give the Z's some water and a little food, but they had no room we could use for this. It seems silly that they would allow pets in the cabin but have no place to take them in such an event. We found a baby changing room and thought we might use this, and got a little water and foof in them before some cleaning women threatened to have us arrested! She may have been right that this not the best idea, but we had not thought to much about germs, though the cats are probably cleaner than most babies and the room itself.
We tried to give the Z's a tranquilizer pill for the trip to JFK and may have succeeded. They were quite will behaved. As this flight is in daylight Jim stayed awake most of the time and watched bad movies most of the time. Janet read and slept and gave the Z's more water.
On arrival at JFK we were surprised to come through immigration , baggage pick up and customs rather quickly. Since Jim has been away 2 years and Janet the same except for her trip home in April there was little for them to check. They did not ask for the health certificates for the cats even though we went to great pains to get them in place.
The driver was fairly good, but for some reason the car company had scheduled him to do another job too soon after ours so he was in a hurry and he was not as helpful as we'd have liked. He unloaded our bags onto the ground - in the rain- but would help us take them inside.
As we drove home, all looked familiar. Janet commented that it was a "typical fall day"- overcast and rainy- dreary- in other words! Quite the contrast to bright sunny days in Bangalore at this time of year.
Ziggy and Zoe got good food and water as soon as we got in the house and were quite ravenous! We worried that they might vomit after eating so fast. However, they seem OK and they recognized they were home again after a long and exciting journey!
The ride to the airport was uneventful. The Z's were not happy, but they never are happy about traveling away from their home. At check-in we were very surprised when they told us that any carry-on bag had to weight less than 8 kg (17.6lbs) and they had us weigh them. Both had to be that heavy or more and they insisted that Janet's had to be made lighter even though Jim's probably weighed more- very strange. They also said it was ok to have more than 2 carry on items but they each had to weigh less than 8kg- also this seemed odd. In any case, we got through that and ended up transferring items to Jim's already heavy bag in case of any future checks- which, never occurred. Going through immigration was easier than expected. Our wait for boarding was not bad. Ziggy and Zoe were relatively peaceful. Once on the plane we dreaded the possibility that Zoe, especially would be loudly vocal, which she can be when unhappy. She did keep up a low level of noise, but not enough to be too disturbing to anyone except Janet- since Zoe was at her feet. We did try to give her a tranquilizer pill at one point, but are not convinced she got it. Anyone who has tried to "pill" a cat knows that the probability of success is not nearly as high as we wish!
We arrived in Frankfurt where they never seem to be prepared for the plane arriving from Bangalore, and had to get off the plane is surprisingly chilly temps. and walk to a bus that was already full, so we took the second one. In the terminal we asked for a porter to help with the bags and cats and they said there are none around and their phone was not being answered. They sent us to a place where they give assistance to passengers, but they said they only have wheel chairs and not enough people to handle those! So we went back and started the long walk to the other terminal. They told us we "might" find a luggage cart along the way. The advantages of cheap labor- like in India became clear here. There would have been a few people around hoping to help us with our bags in India. (we had 2 at check-in, but it is true that once inside the secure area it was harder to find people).
At Frankfurt we had to go through security again, which was equally painful as in Bangalore. We had to take Ziggy and Zoe out of their carriers and everyone loved seeing them! They were the stars of the show! We wanted to go to the business lounge and give the Z's some water and a little food, but they had no room we could use for this. It seems silly that they would allow pets in the cabin but have no place to take them in such an event. We found a baby changing room and thought we might use this, and got a little water and foof in them before some cleaning women threatened to have us arrested! She may have been right that this not the best idea, but we had not thought to much about germs, though the cats are probably cleaner than most babies and the room itself.
We tried to give the Z's a tranquilizer pill for the trip to JFK and may have succeeded. They were quite will behaved. As this flight is in daylight Jim stayed awake most of the time and watched bad movies most of the time. Janet read and slept and gave the Z's more water.
On arrival at JFK we were surprised to come through immigration , baggage pick up and customs rather quickly. Since Jim has been away 2 years and Janet the same except for her trip home in April there was little for them to check. They did not ask for the health certificates for the cats even though we went to great pains to get them in place.
The driver was fairly good, but for some reason the car company had scheduled him to do another job too soon after ours so he was in a hurry and he was not as helpful as we'd have liked. He unloaded our bags onto the ground - in the rain- but would help us take them inside.
As we drove home, all looked familiar. Janet commented that it was a "typical fall day"- overcast and rainy- dreary- in other words! Quite the contrast to bright sunny days in Bangalore at this time of year.
Ziggy and Zoe got good food and water as soon as we got in the house and were quite ravenous! We worried that they might vomit after eating so fast. However, they seem OK and they recognized they were home again after a long and exciting journey!
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Last ride on the ring road
On Monday Oct. 25 Jim had several tasks to complete at the office. These included turning in cards for "The Club" where we had corporate memberships for the past year, returning the car we had used for the past 2 years, returning Jim's India ID badge, shreddng some of the endless stacks of papers and saying good bye to some people. The ride back to our hotel was provided by a co-worker who stays very close by, The Trip was marred by the drive during the height of rush hour, The Ring road traffic was jammed worse that usual and this made it a little easier to leave- the prospect of not having to think about the traffic again for awhile! The rest of the ride to the hotel was unpleasant as well.
However we met friends for dinner Monday evening and this was a nice end of the day.
Tuesday was rather more busy than expected because of the number to trips back to the apartment for various reasons. One trip was to complete the transfer of the apartment, but we left Ziggy and Zoe there to be comfortable, but they seemed bored with no furniture to play on or around. Our last trip to the apartment was at 10PM when we picked up Ziggy and Zoe and left for the airport to return home.
However we met friends for dinner Monday evening and this was a nice end of the day.
Tuesday was rather more busy than expected because of the number to trips back to the apartment for various reasons. One trip was to complete the transfer of the apartment, but we left Ziggy and Zoe there to be comfortable, but they seemed bored with no furniture to play on or around. Our last trip to the apartment was at 10PM when we picked up Ziggy and Zoe and left for the airport to return home.
Sunday, October 24, 2010
moving out
In the past 3 days we were very busy with our move. The packers packed all day Friday and Saturday and then took everything away on Sunday. Of course we had lots of decisions to make on what to put in the air shipment, what to put in the sea, what to carry with us, what to give away and what to throw away. A few more things were sold at very low prices as well.
There were lots of papers to sort through and that took lots of time too. We don't want to lose any that might be important or useful later , but we also don't want the weight.
Because everything was pretty much packed up on Saturday we moved to a hotel- really serviced apartment. We chose it because we were thinking that Ziggy and Zoe would come with us and it also has some good restaurants very close by. The latter is important because we don't have our car available now and have to walk or arrange for an expensive car and driver. We did get a car and driver on Saturday because Janet has been sick and decided she should go to the doctor, but we also needed it to take us and our luggage from the apartment to the hotel.
On Sunday Jim walked to the apartment carrying a heavy bag of clothes and other small items to have the movers take with our sea shipment. This was hard on the back!
We also had a large plant that did not sell and Janet decided she wanted to keep the nice pot it was in, so we managed to find someone in the building to empty the pot and clean it out. The movers had mistakenly packed up the vacuum cleaner, even though the maid told them she thought she needed it. So, they had to unpack that and it was no problem for them to pack the other things that we had found the previous night and decided to ship by sea.
The Apartment is on the 4th floor (3rd floor in Indo- European naming) and the movers had to carry all the boxes down the stairs. They appeared to do this efficiently, but it was hard to keep an eye on them. They seemed good, but the only way we really know is when we receive the stuff on the other end and see what broke or is missing.
There are a number of tasks to do on Monday and Tuesday before we leave- hopefully they will go smoothly and Janet will feel better as well.
As for Ziggy and Zoe, we decided to leave them in the apartment rather than take them to the hotel. We think that fewer transitions will be less stressful for them. So, we will go there Tuesday evening, get them and go to the airport, where we also hope all the paperwork is satisfactory.
Before we left the US we did a lot of research on what was required to take the cats to India. In at least one place they said that having microchips inserted in them was required. We tend not to like this, but thought that it might be valuable if they were to get separated from us or lost. However, we have not seen any evidence that there are microchip readers here. At least none of the vets have mentioned them. We shall see.
There were lots of papers to sort through and that took lots of time too. We don't want to lose any that might be important or useful later , but we also don't want the weight.
Because everything was pretty much packed up on Saturday we moved to a hotel- really serviced apartment. We chose it because we were thinking that Ziggy and Zoe would come with us and it also has some good restaurants very close by. The latter is important because we don't have our car available now and have to walk or arrange for an expensive car and driver. We did get a car and driver on Saturday because Janet has been sick and decided she should go to the doctor, but we also needed it to take us and our luggage from the apartment to the hotel.
On Sunday Jim walked to the apartment carrying a heavy bag of clothes and other small items to have the movers take with our sea shipment. This was hard on the back!
We also had a large plant that did not sell and Janet decided she wanted to keep the nice pot it was in, so we managed to find someone in the building to empty the pot and clean it out. The movers had mistakenly packed up the vacuum cleaner, even though the maid told them she thought she needed it. So, they had to unpack that and it was no problem for them to pack the other things that we had found the previous night and decided to ship by sea.
The Apartment is on the 4th floor (3rd floor in Indo- European naming) and the movers had to carry all the boxes down the stairs. They appeared to do this efficiently, but it was hard to keep an eye on them. They seemed good, but the only way we really know is when we receive the stuff on the other end and see what broke or is missing.
There are a number of tasks to do on Monday and Tuesday before we leave- hopefully they will go smoothly and Janet will feel better as well.
As for Ziggy and Zoe, we decided to leave them in the apartment rather than take them to the hotel. We think that fewer transitions will be less stressful for them. So, we will go there Tuesday evening, get them and go to the airport, where we also hope all the paperwork is satisfactory.
Before we left the US we did a lot of research on what was required to take the cats to India. In at least one place they said that having microchips inserted in them was required. We tend not to like this, but thought that it might be valuable if they were to get separated from us or lost. However, we have not seen any evidence that there are microchip readers here. At least none of the vets have mentioned them. We shall see.
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