Every two weeks, Ellie Mae and I travel from St. Louis to Champaign, Illinois, for Ellie Mae to receive chemotherapy at the University of Illinois. Because it's a three-hour drive each way, and her appointment is first thing in the morning and lasts most of the day, we travel to Champaign the night before. The drive and our stay in the hotel are always interesting! She's come a long way from our first road trip and overnight hotel stay together.
MK: Momma Kat [Latte and Ellie's human Momma, named Kat]
Usually, in a hotel, Ellie alternates between hiding and creating chaos. I still haven't posted about her surgery at the University of Missouri and her first overnight hotel stay (I'll get there eventually). In a later stay, I had the brilliant idea to completely block her out of her hiding space. It was all chaos! As soon as I went to bed, she ran around, jumped, knocked stuff over, and just generally created mayhem (we're talking knocked over trash cans, water bowl, food bowl, litter box, chairs ... trying to dive bomb into the hiding spot ...). During our last hotel visit, she didn't hide and spent most of the night exploring (minus the chaos). I hope this means she's getting more comfortable with our travels.
MK: Umm ... Ellie? Turn around?
This was the first trip Ellie was brave enough to look out the window.
MK: Ellie, we've had a window every time we've been here!
MK: It's hard to see from under the bed.
EM: 🤯
Every trip, Ellie and I debate squeeze-ups' role in her diet. She is convinced they make the perfect appetizer, salad, entree, side dish, and dessert. While she's always loved them, there were times before her surgery when they were all she would eat. I'm deeply embarrassed to admit how many we've gone through in the last five months. At the hotel, they are all I can get her to eat consistently. Then again, she knows if she won't eat her regular food, she'll get squeeze-ups, so I might be being played.
During the last hotel stay, she also posed for me! As you know, she got tired of posing for me months ago. I wish I had more than my phone (and better lighting) to take pictures of her! You can see some of her fur loss from chemo and how her fur has started taking on a reddish tint (changes in fur texture and color can also happen with chemo).
We have a bedtime routine. First, she bathes on her towel (she likes a folded towel on the bed to sleep on).
Then bedtime snuggles ...
Exploring ... until the lights went out (when she came to sleep next to me). This set up might look a little weird. However, the bed is a bit too high for her to jump easily, so I pulled out the desk chair as a step between the floor and the bed to make jumping easier for her. She used the desk chair to get in the cubby in the entertainment center.
The next morning, this is what I woke up to ...
Maybe Ellie was ready for the bar to open in anticipation of her chemo appointment? Or maybe to prepare herself for my driving on the way home?!
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Featured posts:
- If you missed the posts about Ellie's health issues ...
- You can see some of the pictures from Ellie's past meowdeling sessions in Our favorite house panther.
- To read more about Ellie's food quirks since she hasn't been feeling well ... Quirky Ellie Mae.
- For more on Ellie Mae's reluctance to continue posing for pictures ... Ellie Mae and Her Momma.
Love you Sweetheart. Glad to read you are settling down at the hotel. Mom is doing her utmost to help you...remember that of you can.
ReplyDeleteI know. I trust her, which is the only reason this whole thing works. Because I can cause quite a stink when I want to! ~Ellie Mae
DeleteYou are such a brave girl sweet Ellie Mae and we are contantly sending purrs, prayers and hugs your way!
ReplyDeleteMy Mom calls me brave and sweet, too! ~Ellie Mae
DeleteAww, sweet precious baby. Bless you Kat for doing all you can for her treatment as well as making life better in general for EM. 😻 🐈⬛
ReplyDeleteI couldn't do it without her cooperation. I have to hand it to Ellie, she's bad-@$$!
DeleteEllie Mae that looks like a most wonderful home away from home. Sending you and your most wonderful Mom a big HAPPY MEOWoWEEN wish
ReplyDeleteHugs Cecilia
It's not so bad when you don't spend the entire time under the bed! ~Ellie Mae
DeleteSending purrs for you and your Mom, sweet Ellie Mae! Looks like you are getting around and exploring as you travel! Really cute pictures of you!
ReplyDeleteNow only if I could do something about my Mom's driving! ~Ellie Mae
DeleteShe is a wonderful girl and I love seeing her. Give her the treats. I think they will lift her spirits hugely.
ReplyDeleteMsrjorie and oulouse
You wouldn't believe the number of treats Ellie cons me out of! I'm a pushover.
DeleteWe are so glad that you and Ellie Mae are working out a (relatively) comfortable routine...and becomingmore bonded every minute. Purrayers and Power of the Paw that all continue to do well.
ReplyDeleteOur bond is why we can do things like this. It's such a gift!
DeleteI send my very best wishes to you, Ellie. Do you know, I may be a human and you are a cat but there are a lot of similarities. Your fur is thinning and I have lost all of mine (bald as a coot but have a wig for when I go out) I don't want to eat anything but proper Cornish pasties and vegetable soup. Do you suppose that might be my version of squeeze ups? I had my chemotherapy today and now I have a week off! Going through the same sort of thing I know how bad it must make you feel at times. I send my love to your mom Kat because I know she is very worried for you.
ReplyDeleteMy Mom's theory is that I should get to eat whatever I want! At first, she seriously considered going with specific cancer diets, but I already wasn't eating much. She came across someone who said getting a person or cat to eat is far more important than what they eat. There are a lot of people online who swear that fasting your cat for half a week, every week, kills cancer. We haven't tried it, but it sounds dangerous.
DeleteSounds like quite the adventure. Praying the chemo is working. XO
ReplyDeleteEllie is very brave!
DeleteI definitely wouldn't try the fasting. The last thing you want is for Ellie to develop fatty liver disease to add to her health problems. I have a friend who refused chemotherapy but listened to different suggestions on line. She started taking Ivomec in pill form and last week found the cancer has spread to her breast as well as her spine. She advised me to try Ivomec but I told her I wasn't taking any bloody horse wormer!!!
DeleteEllie, you're the bravest girl in the world. And you have the best momma in the world. And Mudpie 100% agrees with you on squeezies!!!
ReplyDeleteMudpie, you would go on strike if you knew how many I get! My Mom wishes she'd invested in Hartz and Churu months ago! ~ Ellie Mae
DeleteEllie Mae, if eating squeeze ups and causing a ruckus in the hotel room makes these adventures fun, then so be it! Lots of purrs and love to you and your mom.
ReplyDeleteThe ruckus isn't so fun when Mom tries to sleep ... but it's infinitely better than her being too sick to cause a ruckus!
DeleteWhat an adventure you have, Ellie Mae. Making a game of things really does help pass the time and relieve the worry. You have a wonderful mom staff, and a limitless supply of squeeze up treats and love. You are a very lucky being, for sure. I never thought of tints, your own are a delight, and I swear will make Latte very jealous.
ReplyDeleteSweet purrs to you all
ERin & Mrs H
Lucky except for the cancer part! But my Mom and I take good care of each other! ~Ellie Mae
DeleteWoodrow would like me to pass along that those are quite stunning poses.
ReplyDeleteAwww {blushing}. ~Ellie Mae
DeleteOh Ellie Mae ~ sending you lots of distant reiki healing energy hugs to speed your recover ~ that is quite the trip you and Mom make ~ hope it works asap ~ hugs,
ReplyDeleteWishing you good health, laughter and love in your days,
clm ~ A ShutterBug Explores,
aka (A Creative Harbor)
Thank you!
DeleteEllie Mae is such a sweetheart. She is having lots of adventures and quality time with mom! Hope the treatments are going well! Amarula: Even I must agree she is a fighter!
ReplyDeleteEllie Mae definitely is a fighter ... and a sweetheart! I think Bear is proud of his sisfur.
DeleteWe love you, Ellie and Momma Kat. You are both amazing and brave. We are purring and praying and thinking of you all the time. XO
ReplyDeleteThat means everything to us. Thank you for your amazing friendship!
DeleteI hope she gets more comfortable with the travel and stay at the hotel and pray the treatments go well.
ReplyDelete