Update On Me & My Furkids

Hi everyone.:) I decided to post this here since most of you know me from the cat side. I just wanted to let you know why I haven't been around much and to also update you on my cats.

My life has been kind of a mess lately and it all started in August. I live in a condo on the second floor and my new neighbor below me knocked on my door to let me know that water was leaking from the light fixture in his kitchen onto his pergo floor. It turned out that my 12 year old dishwasher was causing the problem.

I have home owners insurance so I filed a liability claim and I also decided to buy a new dishwasher. Little did I know that my problems would only get worse. I had the maintenance man come out to pull out my old dishwasher so he could look behind it to see what was going on.

Since it was hooked up with copper tubing instead of a flexable hose, he would have to shut off my hot water from under my sink. He then found out that my angle stops,the hot and cold water shut off stops, didn't work properly so I would need to have these replaced.

Because I live in a large condo building, the water in the entire building would have to be turned off in order for the angle stops to be replaced. Just about every other month or so this is done for routine maintenance and I would have to wait until the next time it would be done which turned out to be on Sept.11th.

I also had to fill out the proper paper work to let our management group know that I would be having plumbing work done on this day. Signs were posted stating that on Sept. 11th the water would be turned off from 10am until 4pm. I took the day off so that my cats wouldn't be so scared and my parents were here as well.

My parents co-own the condo with me and we decided to have all of my angle stops replaced so both bathrooms and toilets would also be done. I also wanted them to put in new hot and cold water faucets in both bathrooms.

To make a long story short, the angle stops were replaced in my master bathroom area and both bathroom toilets but the hall bathroom and kitchen sink still needed to be done. It was around 3pm and I heard a spitting noise and water was starting to come out from under the kitchen sink and from under the sink in the hall bathroom.

The plumber on sight from AquaTek had turned on the water to my building too early so both my kitchen and hall bathroom were flooded.:( The water was on for a good 5-10 minutes before it was turned off again. The plumber said that he didn't know that anyone else was having any work done in my building. He just thought that rountine maintenance was being done.

I learned later on that there were 2 buildings that had their water turned off that day and that there was a clerical error. AquaTek thought that I lived in the other building.:mad: Both my management group and the maintenance man had told AquaTek that I was having work done and that the water needed to be turned off until 4pm.

The neighbor below me had just moved in a few weeks before and his entire floor had to be ripped out along with a lot of his drywall. He had hardwood floor running throughout his condo with only his 2 bedrooms being carpeted. I feel so bad for him.

AquaTek sent out an emergercy clean up crew and they stayed until about 12am. They were more of what I'd call a demolition crew though because they did a lot of damage to my condo.:( They left me with 2 large dehumidifiers and many fan blowers which had to be left until Monday morning. My condo couldn't handle all of the power from these things so my curcuit breakers kept on being tripped. I eventually had to turn off some of the fan blowers.

I'll attach 3 pictures showing the dehumidifiers and fan blowers in my hall bathroom and dining room and kitchen areas.

More posts coming up.>>>> I sure hope that I'm not boring you with details.

The emergency crew had to remove all of the baseboards in my hall bathoom, some in my hall way and dining room area, and all kitchen baseboards. They also removed a few of my 2 year old kitchen floor tiles which I found out that they don't even make these any more. Luckily I have about a box and a half of the kitchen tiles and almost a box of the bathroom tiles. Some of my carpet padding was also removed.

AquaTek is taking full responsiblity but they don't want to go through their insursance company. My parents have been trying to get estimates for the repairs and then we'll send this to AquaTek. So far I did have the carpet padding replaced, the carpet areas stretched and reseamed. All baseboards replaced and the kitchen tiles replaced. The kitchen tiles will need to be redone because the man used the wrong kind of glue.:mad:

I had to paint the new hall way baseboards and touch up all other areas that were damaged. I also painted the second bedroom. I still have to paint both bedroom doors and eventually my own bedroom after I declutter it a bit more. The only good news out of all of this is that I'll be eventually getting new carpet throughout my condo which I've been wanting for years.

Me and my cats had several days and nights of too much togetherness and I couldn't get much sleep because Sunny wouldn't let me. He's now on a different calming herbal pill and is doing much better. Starr was doing poorly before all of this but is doing much better now. I've started feeding all of my cats some raw chicken in the mornings by RadCat and they all seem to love it. Ziggy and Sunny still aren't too sure about it though.

Storm started acting very aggressive again and he was going after poor Starr so he's now on the same calming herbal pill but he gets 1 pill in the morning and 2 pills at night. He was only getting 1 pill at night. He's now much calmer for the most part but can still be grumpy at times. Every one else is doing well.:)

On a much sadder note, I've lost my roommate.:( She was with me for a little over 4 years. She's going through a mental breakdown due to financial problems and she's taken a leave of absence from her work. She has a home in Las Vegas and is now living there with her husband. She's become paranoid and needs medical help but she's shutting everyone out.:( Her brother and SIL will be coming all the way from New Mexico to move her things out of her room on Oct.17th.

I've been talking to her co-worker and her daughter who lives across the street from her and this is how I learned about what's going on with her. I noticed that she was becoming very depressed but she wouldn't open up to me. I just hope that she'll be able to get the help that she needs.:( Please keep her in your thoughts and prayers.

I guess that's all for now. I have a lot more work to do so I've got to go.

WoW! What a fiasco! I sure hope everything gets all straightened out for you soon!

Gosh. That is a lot of water damage! Please make sure that all the dampness is gone. We had lots of water damage in our schools due to bursting pipes and stuff, and when they didn't use the dehumidifiers and fans enough, they got lots of mold. :( You don't want to end up with that!

So sorry to hear about your roommate. I hope that she will get help and get on the road to feeling better.

Hope things will go smoothly for you and the kitties!!

Aggravation like that, you don't need. Sure hope it all gets turned around for you soon.

What a horrible experience! :eek: :( I hope things settle down real soon.

Best of luck finding a new room mate....And thoughts and prayers for your old one to help her through her troubled times.

Gosh what a mess!!! I'm so sorry that happened to you and I sure hope everything is back to normal for you and the cats soon.

I'm sorry to hear about your roommate too. I sure hope she can get things worked out.

Oh Tracey, I am so sorry that you had to deal with all this. What a mess. I can only imagine how frustrating this was for you. Prayers on the way that everything works out well very soon.

I'm happy to hear that Sunny, Starr and Storm are doing better now and that everyone else is well also.

Hang in there girl, it can only go uphill from here on in. :D

Thanks everyone.:) I'm looking forward to the new year and I hope that next year will be much better for me and all of my furkids.:)

I also forgot to mention that Starr is now off of the pred. He was taking very little of it any way so my holistic vet told me that he should be fine without it. Sometimes he'll still have somewhat mushy poos so I hope that by the time I get my new carpet in that he'll have settled down. Before all of this happened I was also without any internet connection for about 1 week and I finally got that resolved on Sept.12th. I also have my new dishwasher and it's so quiet and is working great.:)

I learned that the man that lives below me does have mold issues because his damage was much worse than mine. The emergency crew was at his place today and they had to clean and do a few other things. He also had mold damage due to my dishwasher leaking into his condo because it was vacant for about 6 months and no one let me know that there was a problem. The President of AquaTek told me that they'd take care of everything for him including his previous water damage. His estimate for all of his repairs is a little above $10,000.:eek:

OMG Tracey.... that is almost to much to handle...:(
I hope it will all get better from now on!
Hugs to all felines:love:

Tracey,

Wow!! Please be careful of any mold that forms, especially black mold. It's very toxic and can aggravate any breathing problems (i.e., asthma, etc.) you may already have.

I've missed your posts. I wish I lived closer. You and your cats could stay with me.

You'll be in my thoughts and prayers, honey!!

(((((HUGS))))))

Donna and fur crew:love::love:

Gee whiz! You have had it haven't you? I hope things can get back to normal for you soon and your babies settle down.

I'm really sorry you had to go through this! Unfortunately, I have lived through exactly what you went through - but 3 times. :eek:

First, it happened in the apartment building I grew up in. We had gone away for a long weekend in the summer and one of the pipes behind our bathroom wall broke and flooded everything - all the way down 3 floors. All 3 apartment units below me were not aware of the leaking because the owners were also away for the long weekend. When they came back, they saw the damage and then started moving up the floors and came to our unit. Our whole apartment had 6 inches of water in it. Lucky, though, we were able to stay at the cottage because it was summer and they had to rip everything out and start from scratch. It took a good month before everything was fixed properly.

Second time, was 7 years ago in a condo we purchased. We had water dripping from our bathroom light fixture one day. It turns out the owner above us was trying to fix his toilet, but he didn't turn his water off before hand. :rolleyes: Trying to deal with the insurance over this was crazy, and we ended up selling our unit since this happened two more times. We didn't want to deal with this crazy guy above us who had no idea how to fix things - namely plumbing without recking everything around him. :rolleyes:

Third time, we purchase our current historical home. As fate would have it, we had a sewer back up within 3 months of moving in. Old tree roots had broken through some old pipes. Of course, we had placed everything in the basement, since we were renovating the main floor and lost everything in the flood. All my old photos, clothes, paintings, furniture were damaged or destroyed.

So, yes, I can totally relate (maybe too much) to water problems! ;) Life is full of surprises, you just have to throw your hands up in the air and go on. But going through these events makes you not really care for materialistic objects. Since, in a blink of eye, they can be taken from you.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by krazyaboutkatz

He also had mold damage due to my dishwasher leaking into his condo because it was vacant for about 6 months and no one let me know that there was a problem. The President of AquaTek told me that they'd take care of everything for him including his previous water damage. His estimate for all of his repairs is a little above $10,000.:eek:

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by moosmom

Tracey,

Wow!! Please be careful of any mold that forms, especially black mold. It's very toxic and can aggravate any breathing problems (i.e., asthma, etc.) you may already have.

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Yes, be very, very careful of the mold issue. I would have an independent mold specialist come out to check out your unit. That's a nasty thing to deal with and can seriously affect your health.

Oh Tracey! What a mess. We had water damage in Chicago....flash flood backed up the water into our basement -- I lost all my photos, Christmas ornaments, furniture, clothes. And then...just as the repairs were finished...it happened again!

I feel your pain and hope all gets back to some semblance of normal soon!

Tracey, sorry you had so much trouble. :eek: I hope things get back to normal soon!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Russian Blue

Second time, was 7 years ago in a condo we purchased. We had water dripping from our bathroom light fixture one day. It turns out the owner above us was trying to fix his toilet, but he didn't turn his water off before hand. :rolleyes: Trying to deal with the insurance over this was crazy, and we ended up selling our unit since this happened two more times. We didn't want to deal with this crazy guy above us who had no idea how to fix things - namely plumbing without recking everything around him. :rolleyes:

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Well something like this has already happened me to me earlier this year. I went to use my toilet in the master bathroom and I noticed that water was dripping out of the fire alarm heat sensor unit which is above my toilet. It was after 10pm on a Mon. night so I called our emergency number but only got an answering machine so I left a message.

I went upstairs to talk to the people living above me and later I heard a bunch of noise and water was dripping out even faster now. The man upstairs decided to move his full toilet into the shower for the night.:mad: This caused all of the toilet water to then leak into my bathroom below. It also set off our fire alarm.

I learned that he rents from his sister who owns the unit and she doesn't even have home owners insurance. I also learned that he had noticed something leaking earlier that day and he called his sister but she never did anything about it. I cleaned up the mess and waited a good 2 weeks to see if my ceiling would dry out on it's own. It didn't.

I then had to wait several more weeks for it to be finally fixed because the owner wanted to use our maintenance man and he was still on vacation. Luckily there weren't any mold issues to worry about. So this year hasn't been a good year for me or my condo.

Thanks again for all of the nice replies. I hope that I'll never have to go through anything like this again.:)

*HUGS* to you! It sounds like you've had quite the couple of months! I'm glad your kitties are doing better though.

Prayers on the way that things start looking up!

I'm sorry to hear that you are going through a rough time.
I'm sure it's been very stressful for both you and your kitties.
I hope things get better for you soon.

:eek: OMG Tracey I knew something was wrong.. Hey as they say when it rains it pours.. I feel for you bad.. I had water prob about 5 yrs ago & clean & blowing fans all over to dry stuff out.. It can all be so mental trying & just a mess.. Well glad to hear from you & that things are mending to the positive side now..

You have sure been through alot in the past few months! What an ordeal!!
It's good to see you back on PT! :)

Thanks again everyone.:) I know that things can only get better at this point but now my Starr is having diarrhea problems again.:( I just don't know what more I can do for him except to try putting him back on a higher doseage of pred. I've even considered possibly rehoming him but I don't even know if he'd be able to survive without me. He's not the most social cat and he will bite when scared. I've contacted my holistic vet but I haven't heard back from her yet. Does anyone have any suggestions about this?

Oh Tracey, I am so sorry to hear that Starr is having bowel problems again.

When any of my boys or rescues had problems with diarrhea, my vet gave me an oral paste called "Diarsanyl". It's a Nutritional supplement as an Aid in coating the intestinal Mucosa. You administer it morning and evening for 3 days only. It has always worked very well with them. Ask your vet about it and see what he thinks.

I still have quite a bit of it left and if you want, I can send it to you in a heartbeat.

Thanks Lorraine.:) I've never heard of this. I think that Starr most likely needs something more regularly. I just e-mailed my regular vet since I still haven't heard back from my holistic vet yet. I got very emotional when I read about Rutherford's passing and now I can't stop crying thinking about my Starr and how I've tried everything under the sun to try help him and nothing has ever seemed to help him for very long.

I just feel so frustrated and helpless right now.:( I worked so hard to try to get him off his pred and now that he's finally off of it, he's having yet another diarrhea episode. I feel like I'm back at square one.:( I know that I shouldn't be so materialistic but since I'm going to be getting new carpet throughout my condo soon, I really need a solution to this problems asap.

I can't have regular accidents like this and my parents co-own the condo with me and they won't put up with it. I know that their solution will be to either have him put to sleep or to be rehomed. They've been trying to get me to down size my cat numbers for quite some time now.:( I also can't confine him to a cage because I feel that this is cruel and not a good quality of life. Putting diapers on him I think would make things worse.

I hope to hear back from both of my vets soon. Any other suggestions are also welcome. Thanks again.:)

I'm so sorry to hear that Starr is having diarrhea problems again. I know you and I have been dealing with this with our two cats for quite some time and have shared information to try and help each other. I was so happy to learn of the Taste of the Wild grain free food from you and while it wasn't right for Jimmy and his IBD issues, it was just the ticket for George, who also had diarrhea but not to the extent that Jim had it. George is still on the Taste of the Wild and doing well, so thank you so much for that tip!

It sounds like you need to find some solutions and soon!
I can't remember if I have read in any of your past posts if you had tried Metronidazole with Starr. Jimmy was put on it 6 years ago when he was found by someone wandering the streets and near death. The SPCA took him in and then he was placed in a clinic for a month. They treated him with Metronidazole the whole time and he got better and better and then I later adopted him. Since then, I had always had him on Prednisilone, sometimes by pill and sometimes by transdermal ear gel. His diarrhea never cleared up but he still seemed happy and it was supposed to help his asthma. I didn't realize that Metronidazole can be used on and off to help cats who suffer from IBD so it didn't occur to me and for whatever reason, wasn't suggested to me that I try Jimmy on it again.

When Jimmy fell seriously ill last month and was rushed to the vet, that's the first thing they put him on. He was on it for 2 weeks and was doing so well and then when it ran out, he started to get a bit lethargic and his diarrhea was back and was like water and then worse! I did some Googling and found that most cats are on this for 4 weeks to get them back on track so I asked for some more and the vet gave me two more weeks of it. Within 2 days, he was so much better and as I posted in his thread, he actually pooped a 'real' poop the other day. It hasn't been consistent but I know if I only fed him the dry HypoGastro food, he would have regular bowel movements. I keep giving him a little of the wet Hypo because he looks so forward to it but I'm going to eventually switch him over to just dry.

Maybe you could ask for a two week trial of Metronidazole. It's fairly bitter so they usually compound it into a chicken suspension. Jimmy hates it so I just draw it up in the syringe (less than a ml) and quickly squirt it in his mouth. He forgives me a few minutes later once the taste is gone. lol
I think you can order them in flavoured chews as well but if Starr is finicky and might not want to eat the chew one day, then the liquid would be the better way to go. It's an antibiotic but I believe it helps with the issue of inflammation in the intestines.
I'm hoping to only have him on it for a few more days and then hopefully the diet will be enough.

Here are some links on IBD and Metronidazole:

IBD/Metronidazole

another link

Unfortunately alot of the sites don't go into great detail about Metronidazole (Flagyl) but the do mention it as a treatment for inflammation and IBD.


Also, I can't remember if you tried Starr on a Hypo diet or not. I think I remember reading at one point that you had tried Z/D.

Prayers that Starr will get better soon.

Yes, Starr was on the Z/D diet even before he was on the pred. He didn't do well on it until after he also started taking the pred. Then after his system became adjusted to the Z/D diet, he didn't do well at all.:( This is when my vet told me to try a grain free diet like Innova Evo. He did extemely well on this until his system adjusted to this and then he wasn't doing well again. This is why I also started taking him to a holistic vet. The Primal Defense powder and GI Encaps that she prescibed for him have really made the difference. Maybe they're not working now either.:(

Yes, he's been on Metronidazole many times but I don't remember how long. I think it was about 2 weeks or so. It never really seemed to help him though. Both he and Pearl were on it as kittens because they both had runny stools. He also had a severe case of coccidia which took quite a while to clear up. He's been sickly ever since he was a kitten. It's so unfair.:( I still haven't heard back from either vet yet. Hopefully I'll hear something tomorrow.

I fed Starr a little less food tonight and he's acting normal and is quite active and frisky. I just hope that he won't have problems tomorrow morning again. Please send some positive vibes his way. Thanks in advance.:)

Wow have you had a real time of things. Hopefully you're just getting it all out of the way so the next year or two are smooth sailing with no problems!

*****HUGS*******:love:

~~~ healthy ~~~ vibes AND ~~~ quick apartment fix ~~~ vibes beaming at ya, dear. Oh, I'd hoped things were looking up for you. :eek:

Please keep us informed.

{{{hugs}}}