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Yukon's CornerDarwin's Corner is now mostly Yukon's Corner.
Our well-loved little dog died December 14, 2015. You could call it complications of cancer and cancer treatment. It was time to say goodbye. MORE RECENT YUKON NEWS May 3, 2022. Yukon had a bad scare late 2021 with kidney disease and we thought we were going to lose her. Kidney medication and putting her back on normal canned cat food (because she loves it. hates the medically approved stuff) brought her back from near death. She has even regained her pleasure in having the base of her tail rubbed. So, we dodged a bullet there. RECENT YUKON NEWS 12/23/21 Yukon has been in the hospital. Now recovering at home. We don't know how old she really is, but she's around 18 years I bet. Kidneys are starting to fail. Right now she's eating like a horse--Beech-Nut turkey and chicken baby food. We've cornered the local market for her. Going to try to bathe her for the first time tomorrow. Lying in a cat litter box (even when it's clean) is not conducive to smelling nice. But she purrs, she talks, she walks a little, she still remembers her favorite places, and she confines her litter box mistakes to the bathroom tiles for the most part. And loves lying on my lap. We're not ready to give up on her. 07/23/21 Yukon’s annual exam is next week, but I don’t expect any surprises. Her excessive peeing was nipped in the bud by a kidney-repair based rx cat food that she actually likes. There is no stress in her life (other than the brief visit she had to the front part of our house while the dog was gone). Yukon did not like being out of her comfort zone. Not one bit. She paced around and around and around until I called it quits and took her back to her two (very big) rooms where she is the boss Don’t know how old she is. I moved here in 2008, and she was already a fixture around our house. And not a kitten the first time anyone found her lolling about in our back yard. So, she must be somewhere around sixteen or seventeen or eighteen years old. The sweetest damn cat in the world. She’s deaf now. And very lazy, but she’s always been that. We bought her one of those dog/cat ramps that cost so much. Best buy ever. She uses it all the time. I’m not going to photograph her any more. The less stress the better. I may have some other shots of her in the archives though. Older post from about January 2021 Noticed this week. Yukon looks like she's lost weight. Since I don't leave her free choice dry food any more, and she doesn't get anything after 6 pm...hoping that is why. EVEN LESS CURRENT NEWS ABOUT YUKON (July 2020) Yukon has had bouts of vomiting for quite a while. Has been to vet. Put on prescription diet for digestive issues, been on antibiotics. Got well for a while, and then regressed. I began experimenting with how to feed her, what to feed her, and how much. Today, she's gone without vomiting for more than a full month. I finally got her off dry food, only give her the canned prescription food, and space it out in three meals, and never feed her or leave food in her bow past 6 pm. It breaks my heart when she starts screaming for a snack at midnight, But maybe this is the formula that works. Just an FYI for anyone else whose cat has the same problems. CURRENT NEWS ABOUT YUKON (November 2019) Sunday, early evening, Yukon had some sort of accident. In the house. Probably trying to get up onto a couch, or maybe up or down the steps from one room to the other. She’s an old cat. Now has a partial tear of a ligament on her left side near the haunches. Couldn’t get any animal emergency services. I’m going to leave it at that. This is Wednesday, day three of vet prescribed pain pills and steroids for her. Plus bed rest, no stairs, and no couch lounging. She can walk now. In fact, she’s seemed to have improved. Going to check if PetSmart or Petco or anyone closer than Austin provides emergency services. UPDATE December 2, 2019 A week of bed rest and meds has done wonders. I was able to pick her up without protest yesterday, she's walking around more and sleeping outside her box some. Looks better, sounds better. We have a follow-up vet visit late this week. Update December 30, 2019. Today's the day she gets released from one-room confinement and can take the stairs and get up on the couch if she wants. Bought her a cat ramp. Hope she's smart enough to use it. As far as I know, she's fully recovered. But one other thing...We've realized she is partially or completely deaf. Update February 05, 2020. Yukon's recovered, but I don't think she'll ever try jumping up on couches again. The ramp worked like a charm. It didn't take her very long to learn how to use it. And she does use it. Vet's got her on a fish oil supplement. Don't know if it helps or not. She's not running about, but she's walking around, and up and down stairs. Update 03/07/20: I didn't witness it, bu Yukon can evidently jump up onto a couch and then up to the top of its back. I found her lazing in the sun on the back of the couch a couple of days ago. She shouldn't be jumping onto or off anything, so I helped her down. She all better! FUN FACTS ABOUT YUKON FUN FACT #1 Yukon is basically a white cat that God went all bibbidy-bobbidy-boo on and saddled with a, well, a saddle, and a combination cap/mask coloring of greyish brindle. Brindle gray leggings, too. And a short, stubby striped tail. I'd think she was some sort of Chimera, but I see cats all through the neighborhood with her same markings. Got to be cousins, brothers, sisters, etc. (Photo of Yukon upcoming pretty soon). But, holy cow, there really is such a thing as a Chimera cat. Yukon isn't one of them. FUN FACT #2 Yukon is one of the sweetest animals I've ever known. She came with the house we bought back in 2007. Was living in our backyard. And of all the cats I've ever known, she was the only one who ever bit anyone bad enough to end up in the ER. You've heard the saying no good deed goes unpunished? Well, one day Yukon had the bad luck to fall afoul of our dog Nails. He had her in his jaws and was this close to breaking her back when Mother raced out into the backyard, dragged Yukon out of Nails's mouth, and got bit for her troubles. By the cat, not the dog. Saved Yukon's life twice over by getting rabies shots. Mother was a real hero that day. FUN FACT #3 We stole Yukon from her owners. Not really, but close. Yukon lived in our backyard, in our bushes, on our front porch, and when she got hurt once when we were on vacation, we took her to the vet. Decided if we were going to really care for her she needed to join us in our house, so we asked the owner if we could have her and she said yes. Yukon hasn't been outside since except for scheduled vet visits. She loves lounging on the couch, sunning under the window, and eating. FUN FACT #4 Do you remember that old YouTube video of the cat that sang Italian opera when its owner scratched the base of his tail? Well, Yukon does that too, except with this being Texas, she sings honky-tonk. Just kidding. Yukon doesn't sing, but the expression on her face.... Pure bewilderment. Something wonderful is happening to her and she has no idea how or why or who. I just love it! Doesn't seem to work on all cats, though. Tiberius doesn't go all googly-eyed. Wish he did. FUN FACT #5 Yukon has princess paws. That's our name for the Soft Paws plastic sheathes she wears on her front feet to prevent her from shredding the couches. She can often be seen chewing them off, however. We find them all over the floor, assuming they are the colored ones. Right now they seem to be short and clear. I'll only find them when I step on them barefooted. R.I.P Darwin Rix. Below are photos of Yukon. 
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Darwin Photos |
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Permanent Information |
Darwin was a shorty bulldog. She was a hermaphrodite. And she died of cancer December 2015. We were committed to keeping her happy and as healthy as we could, and we succeeded for a year and a half. She loved imitating a couch potato, but when anyone got anywhere near our front door, she fiercely protected her people (and I do mean fiercely). She didn't like going on walkies. And the only part of driving around in a car she liked was the run from the front door of the house to the back seat of the car. Good bye little bulldog.
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