The Brochure on our 1st Anniversary & From Barn Cat to Beloved Pet: Walter's Story

Today is the Only Child Diaries podcast one year anniversary!  So yay for us!  Woohoo!  It’s been quite a year.  I wanted to take this time to thank everyone and give some updates on some things I’ve discussed during the year.  

My most recent update is from this past week, and it’s very sad.  When I started this podcast, I started off using the room in our house that would become Walter’s room.  Walter, the 20 year old former barn cat who came to live with us last year when he broke his foot.  We weren’t sure how he broke his back foot, but all of a sudden he was limping, on one of the hottest days. It was September 7.  I remember because that’s the anniversary of our drunk driver crash in Las Vegas.  Anyway, I offered to take him to the emergency hospital, and he soon became our guest here.  I also promised, with my husband’s approval of course, that he could live out his life here.  It’s a tough thing, but Walter passed away this week.  His microchip put him at 21 years and four months old.  A long life for a cat!  I had probably known him about 15 years or so.  One of the trainers at our barn had adopted him from the local animal shelter as a mouser, but soon he was adopted by everyone there, and that trainer eventually left the barn, leaving him behind.  That was okay.  We all watched out over him.  He was never what you could call a cuddly cat during his barn time, but he was a stately gentleman in so many ways.  His long orange hair, his white paws and chest, and his beautiful green eyes.  He always walked with purpose.  

Almost everyone at the barn had a story about Walter.  Maybe he kept them company when they were keeping watch over their own sick horse.  He did rounds with my husband when Bill worked security there.  Sure, he didn’t necessarily keep up with him step by step, but he had his eyes on things, that’s for sure!  And he had his favorite barns.  He lived most of his time there in the A barn and the B barn.  He also had his favorite horses.  And when one horse passed away in his stall, Walter stood guard in front of the body until the people came to retrieve it.  I think that was my favorite story, because it showed that he was aware of his surroundings, and he knew he had a job.  Walter was an old soul in so many ways.  

Walter was spicy, as the saying goes.  Petting him was risky business.  If I was lucky, I could get in maybe one gentle pet and then he would probably swipe at me. I remember once he rubbed up against me and I was surprised.  I always felt like I had a little PTSD from trying to pet him!  Everyone also had a swiped-at story.  When it got cold and rainy the most recent winter, we set him up with a nice bed in my feedroom, but getting him inside was dicey.  Some people balked at the fact that we were confining him, but Walter always did things on his own terms.  He wasn’t going to go in unless he wanted to go in.  I would leave the door open while I did my chores at night.  Walter would make his rounds, and then he would look around.  He would approach the feedroom door, and then sit.  Then look around again.  Then maybe move closer.  And perhaps after 20 minutes or so, he would decide it was okay to go inside and get into his bed.  Picking him up was never an option!  Some nights, he would decide not to go inside, but when he did, I felt like I could go home knowing at least tonight he was safe from predators and weather.  

Bringing him home was a little daunting.  But he soon realized he was safe.  Safe from barking dogs who liked to chase him.  Safe from coyotes.  Safe from everything, and he could rest.  Sleeping and eating would become great pastimes of his, and he enjoyed looking out the door as well.  He also got used to the regular bandage and splint changes and trips to the vet, and adapted well to walking around with his leg wrapped up.  We limited the area he could walk in to give his leg a chance to heal, and he managed quite well.  He became a much better patient and a much better animal companion.  He was sweet and loving, and came to not only enjoy affection but also to seek it out. In fact, he sought out affection instead of just food, which was not only surprising, it was awesome to experience!  And the best news was that his leg finally healed!     

Walter had multiple issues going on, including what seemed like a chronic respiratory infection that we couldn’t get rid of, spinal stenosis, a big benign tumor on his foot, then high blood pressure which he was receiving medication for every day, and what we knew from a few years back, chronic kidney disease.  But the kidneys had remained somewhat stable.  This is a lot for a 21 year old cat to deal with, and he was managing pretty well.  But the last few weeks, he seemed a bit off, and then he just wasn’t eating very much.  When we got him to the hospital, it was confirmed that his kidney function had really taken a deep dive, but still he had a chance.  And this cat had surprised us so many times before.  I really tried to hold onto hope.  They also told us about a heart murmur that I guess he had for a while, but I didn’t remember.  Anyway, his little body had used up his nine lives and it was time to say goodbye.  And gosh, this is always the hardest part of knowing and loving any animal.  The first days and weeks after are the hardest.  Missing his personality.  I knew going in that we would be saying goodbye sooner rather than later.  But nothing ever prepares you for that day.  I’m still struggling with this loss.  

Vet care has come so far, and the facility where Walter was treated is one of the best in our area.  VCA Animal Specialty Group.  They have done a tremendous job with all our family’s animals.  We didn’t sign up for any extenuating measures, like a feeding tube, we just tried the IV fluids and medications to help with nausea and infection.  Still, the final bill was pretty pricey.  We started a GoFundMe when he entered the hospital, and I’ll include the link in my show notes in case anyone would like to donate and help me out with the bill, in the name of animals everywhere.  And also my Venmo link.  Some of the barn folks have helped out and I’m very grateful.  The bill was over $6,000.  

I have to tell you that right now as I'm recording this, our other cat has come to sit at my feet. Everybody in the household is mourning in their own special way, Walter's loss. 

In addition this week, our cat Bubbie, who’s here with me, wasn’t feeling well one day, which was surprising because he seemed so much better with the asthma.  I dedicated a whole episode recently to his health scare.  But it came time to take him to the emergency hospital again, and they wanted him to stay overnight.  He was throwing up, but then he didn’t bounce back, which is what he normally does after getting rid of a hairball.  A few months ago, he had thrown up about a dozen times, and they thought maybe his tummy was just inflamed.  Well, it turns out Bubbie is now diabetic.  Yeah. As many of you know, my husband is also a Type 1 diabetic, so now having a cat who is also diabetic, just on top of the actual diagnosis, was a lot for me to take in.  Talk about when it rains it pours!  I’ve started doing the twice daily insulin injections.  When they first told me he would need shots, I admit, I sort of panicked because Bubbie is not the kind of cat that wants to feel pain or be fussed with, but I told myself that this was what was going to have to happen, however he reacted.  I was going to have to face it with confidence and just get it done.  I’m happy to report so far that he is taking the shots like a trooper and he seems to be recovering well from his traumatic experience of being at the vet. When I picked him up, oh boy, if looks could kill.  I got the stare down of my life.  I’m trying to learn all that I can now about feline diabetes.  And we’ll have a recheck of his blood sugars in a few weeks, so fingers and paws crossed.  Now there is a thing called a curve that they do for some of the animals where you check their blood every hour at a certain for a certain day for 12 hours.  But they realize that Bubbie’s just not that kind of personality. So we're going to do a test that takes an average of three weeks and we'll see where, where we are.

Another update, in one of my recent episodes I told you about our old air conditioning system breaking here at home and the long process to get it replaced.  Well, it’s been a long month of too much heat, humidity and sweat on my part, and I’m relieved that after three days this week of having men literally crawl all over our house, we are up and running, at least in part.  They aren’t finished, but we have air now, just in time for Hurricane Hilary to hit our area.  Lots of rain and wind are expected, so perhaps we won’t be needing it this week as much, but it’s still pretty humid.  The men will be back next week, but we’re on our way.  They also had to patch the roof where the unit was replaced, and fingers are crossed that it holds up.  Supposed to get lots of rain.  At least this will make the garden happy.  Again the heat has fried a lot of my plants despite my best efforts.  

Now I look over all the episodes I’ve done this past year, and I’m proud of each one.  The top five in terms of the most listened to so far, at this point in time at least, are in order:  My Inaugural episode, the first.  Number two is my interview with comedian and real estate broker Amy Brick.  This was also my first interview, and did I mention she’s an only child?  Number three is the one on Dental Anxiety.  I think that tells me that a lot of you maybe don’t like going to the dentist either!  Number four is the one about my 30 years as a fundraiser.  Oh, it’s been a wild ride.  And right now number five is about the time I had a retail store and how that experience really shaped my life.  I think back on those times so often, but I’ll tell you, I wouldn’t want to have a store these days.  With the ease of online shopping, plus all the overhead it takes to run a storefront, I’m glad I did it then and not now.  The top five episodes have changed slightly over time, and maybe one gets bumped out and another becomes the fifth most popular.  It’s interesting to see what you enjoy listening to.  

And where are our listeners?  We now have listeners in 23 countries, including the United States of course, with Mexico coming in second.  Then in order of the number of listeners, we have Germany, the Netherlands, Australia, the Philippines, India, United Kingdom, Canada, Spain, I think Spain is the newest one, Ireland, Portugal, France, New Zealand, Belgium, Iran, Nigeria, Slovenia, Aruba, Zimbabwe, Indonesia, Malawi, and Guyana.  In terms of cities, the city with the most listeners so far is of course Los Angeles, and includes 286 other cities across the globe.  In the United States, we’re represented in 43 of the 50 states, and also Washington, D.C.  The states – I had to go back and figure this out – we’re missing are Alaska, Arkansas, Iowa, Mississippi, Nebraska, North Dakota and Wyoming.  So, hey, if you know anyone in any of those states, please share with them how much you enjoy this podcast with them!  

Throughout the year, I’ve covered so many topics, including our favorite Vegas stories, the time we got hit by a drunk driver, my favorite Thanksgiving and Christmas stories, to name a few.  I’ve also talked about finding the perfect paint color, dating and finding love, my lifelong relationship with food, acupuncture, my mother-in-law, my mom, my dad, my knee surgery, and on and on.  In the coming year, I’m going to be incorporating a lot more interviews.  I’ve got some people ready to record very soon.  Mostly other only children adults.  People in different walks of life, different experiences.  As much as you enjoy listening to me, I think there’s a lot of value in finding out what other only children adults have experienced.  

I started this podcast because I wanted to share my voice with others. I know that I’ve often learned from listening to other people talk about their lives.  I hope my experiences help others, or at least that I entertain you!   But also because I’m proud to be an only child, and I think we’ve gotten a lot of negative press over the decades.  So, I hope you’ll keep listening.  I hope you’ll share this podcast with others.  Until next time, I’ll be here trying to live my best life.  

That’s all I’ve got for today.  Next week, we’ll tackle another topic together.  I hope you’ll join me.