S23 and his friends jumped into our pool fully clothed. It made for awesome videos!
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Our boy cat is bonded to our D22, and he has become the neediest, yeowliest critter since sheās been away. And now heās over-grooming and is creating bald spots on his flanks and hind legs.
The vet has run every test, but heās fine ā just stressed. Iāve tried those pheromone plug-ins and catnip and supplements and different toys and more play time, but nothing is working. Weāre considering some kitty Prozac. 
Our girl kitty is totally fine because I am her human, and I havenāt gone anywhere. 
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This was exactly us with S24. D26 is the exact opposite so I am a bit stressed about all the hoopla surrounding graduationā¦
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I had to submit a āfit to flyā form signed by the doctor in order for her to be approved for travel. If you go on the airline websites you can see what they ask for to get an idea of what you might need. Obviously my mother needed the travel nurse b/c she has dementia but had the trip not been so long and had she been mobile and there were not a risk of her getting agitated on the flight we likely would not have needed a fit to fly form. It is so unfortunate that all of these decisions are so complicated and there are so many factors to consider.
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Our area does the Open House thing too and they party hop all day/evening.
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I am so glad that all worked out and now you can rest easier. It sounds like mountains had to move and they did, thanks to you. Your mom is lucky to have you.
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Might ask about Gabapentin (or āBonQatā)
I give my dog 200 mg 2 hours before he gets groomed and it has been a game changer.
Really? Our elderly yellow lab takes daily Gabapentin, but thatās because sheās old with creaky hips. It mostly makes her sleepy. I didnāt know it could also be used to chill out a stressed cat. Iāll ask about it, thank you!
Iāll second (third) the Gabapentin suggestion. We give it to our kitty before taking her to get her nails trimmed because sheās fighty and even the vet techs were having issues getting it done. It works wonders.
In what form are you all giving Gabapentin to your cats? Will they take a pill? HOW do they take a pill, lol?
With our lab, we just throw the pill in her food bowl and it goes down ā but sheās a lab, LOL. Occasionally weāll find a spit-out pill on the floor, but it will go down no sweat in a piece of cheese.
Our cat, not so much. He doesnāt even eat wet food.
It may be more difficult if he wonāt eat wet food. We just stick the capsule in her food and she eats it no problem. Or you can break the capsule open and sprinkle the meds in her food. Maybe ask your vet. Iām not sure if there is another form the medicine can come in.
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We had to give my kitty gab after a surgery- (needed him to stay still and calm for 3-5 days).
They gave us it in liquid form.
He still did not like taking it. But there was no way we were getting pills down his throat!
If needed for long term use- some compounding pharmacies can flavor it for you (we had to do that with a daily medicine for a cat years ago- tuna flavor) Kinda pricey- but can be worth it
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About 90-95% of our cats taking it regularly will use the capsule form - usually itās open the capsule and mix 1/2 to 1 capsules worth of the powder into wet food. Some folks will pill/capsule their cats if its for car travel anxiety or trips to the vet - capsule the night before, capsule the morning of a morning appointment.
Otherwise it does come in liquid, but the liquid version we get in has a licorice / anise odor to it, and most cats donāt seem to really like that (and will make them drool).
You can also have it compounded into other flavors (one we call ātriple fish headā seems popular) . This is pricier than the capsule format.
-or- I have seen it compounded into a transdermal ear gel - however I have seen ZERO acceptable studies that demonstrate it is actually absorbed transdermally. This can be both pricey and a mess - especially for something I canāt be sure actually works.
Most folks who use it regularly are buying the capsule form, and as a veterinary generic it can be very cheap (I think our 100count 100mg capsule bottle is maybe 20-22 bucks).
Of course, since people appear to use in it conjunction with fentanyl or other illicit drugs, the state of North Carolina has now placed it on the āreportableā list. Itās not federally controlled - but here, I have to submit a form to the state by end of next business day every time we dispense it.
If you are only using it for Travel trips or vet visits - you might ask about getting single doses of 'BonQat" -the Feline only practicioners have been raving about this for at least a year now.
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Okay it took me a little while to remember that you were a vet ā and not just someone who owned dozens of cats. 
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Not mutually exclusive. However, while I might be a bit crazy, I am not insane enough to house dozens of cats in one household.
We do have a couple of clients who do have -lots- of catsā¦and come in to purchase Gabapentin 100mg capsules in 500 count bottles each month. I try not to judge, or to imagine the smell of it allā¦
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We have two cats named Mango and Dragon(fruit), so D26 has been lobbying for an orange cat that we could name Papaya.
My husband has put his foot down and said that we have three human children and a dog and two cats, and that is entirely too many critters for us to bring in another one. Sheās still working on him, though.
I feel vaguely guilty because I was never allowed pets growing up (my parents didnāt grow up in the US, and they werenāt used to animals as pets) ā so the minute I left for college, I got a hamster and two guinea pigs. (Which my parents fell in love with as their grandpigs.) And now I have clearly betrayed all of rodent kind. 
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I keep hearing on social media that this is supposed to be a big week for admission decisions.
Anyone with big ones coming out this week!?
D26 is still riding high from her RIT news.
We have a couple of outstanding questions that she is asking about in regard to some financial aspects- so hopefully we will hear back from that in the next day or two.
She (I am to) is eager to officially accept and get the deposit paid and lock into this school!!!
She emailed her AO to ask about any negative aspects of her reducing her course load for her last semester (there is none).
So, she is happy about that. She will be dropping 2 electives. She currently doesnāt have a lunch break (hasnāt had one for the last two years!) One class is at a lunch time, so she is excited to not have to cram down food in short amount of time and get an actual lunch break. The other class is end of day- so she can take off early the rest of the school year.
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On cats. Our one cat is the archetype who the term āscaredy-catā came from and even after 8 years, Iām the only one sheās truly comfortable around. When D19 went off to college, she (cat) was scared of most everything and everyone and was mostly avoiding everyone at all times. Yet, when D19 came home on her first break after leaving for college, this cat marched into the kitchen and meowed very loudly at her! Like it was reprimanding her for having been gone for so long 
(Our other cat is the exact opposite and befriends/begs for petting from every human in sight.)
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Not confirmed yet, but I think my D26 will have two decisions this week, including her ED1. Not sure how my kid will take it if she does not get into her ED, but she knows that this school is a reach for her. She has two other schools she is waiting for that she also really likes.
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