avondale training journal, starting Dec. 2018 (comments welcome)

[DopeyBadger]

Happy Birthday! How was the pie?

 

[avondale]

Happy Birthday! How was the pie?

Good as always. I've had it for my birthday most years since I got the recipe from you. Thanks!

 

[avondale]

@Herding_Cats @garneska @GollyGadget Thanks for the birthday wishes!
@The Expert The pie is very good, but EXTREMELY rich.
@jmasgat @col1 I'm used to the 10k steps, so it feels like nothing now. I've been doing a Garmin challenge with friends so that I'm getting more like 15k most days and more on the weekends, and that has definitely been keeping me busy!

 

[avondale]

Nov. 13, 2025 was Kali's 18th birthday!

She has outlived her two brothers from the same litter and is so happy being an "only" cat!

We have been giving her subcutaneous fluids three times a week for her failing kidneys for almost a year. She also gets a monthly injection to help with her arthritis. She doesn't really care to eat like she used to, so she's very slowly wasting away - she's a bit over 6 lbs now, when in her prime she was close to 10 lbs. But despite all that, she seems very happy and relatively active for her age. She still has a purr that would fit a cat three times her size.

We're not really expecting her to reach another birthday with her kidneys, but obviously we'll see what happens! Just hoping she'll be happy and comfortable for as long as possible. The cat bed you see her in has a pressure sensor and heating pad in the bottom, so it warms up a bit when she lays in it - it took us forever to get her to like it and try it out enough to lay in it, but now she loves it! She will also follow sunspots around the house to lay in.

Cute photos from the last couple of months.

 

[The Expert]

Happy birthday, Kali! What an amazing cat, and she's so lucky to have you taking care of her. We're going through the same things with our Audrey, who is also a beautiful black kitty and turned 24 this summer. It's hard to see them slow down, but so fulfilling to be able to give her what she needs.