There are the diabetes supplies. Glucose test strips in the small vial over on the right. The box of the sharp things used to draw little drops of blood for testing, usually by sticking the cats near the edge of the ear. And the syringes in the bag for his insulin shots.

The bigger green vial has needles to use when administering his (for now) daily dose of subcutaneous fluid. The big bottle is a generic copy of Miralax stool softener, which I have to mix with Silverman’s food at every meal. Speaking of food, there’s the w/d food, okay for diabetic cats and also with more fiber than the alternative he’s been on recently. Oh, and the Cisapride capsules. I had never given a cat a capsule before. Pills are bad enough, even little tiny ones. But I’ve now managed to get a capsule down him three meals in a row, followed by a splash of water to wash it down (using the larger syringe on the counter).

I know none of this is comfortable for him. And I also know it is pretty miserable for me. The other cats are also clambering for attention, so meal time is a crazy, nearly two hour ordeal, twice a day, with food, needle sticking, glucose testing, capsule giving, and so on and on.

Anyway, there are also some photos for this Feline Friday, so please proceed….

–> See all of today’s Friday Felines!

That’s because Meda was the 3-month old infant who made the news after she and her mother survived when their house collapsed around them during the great 1947 tornado that swept through Woodward, OK in early April 1947.

We’re fortunate to have a letter written by Meda’s mother describing the tornado and it’s aftermath.

The scenes in the old newsreels and her family pictures show scenes of devastation just like those of Moore. In 1947, though, there were no tornado warnings, so the storm came as a surprise.

The Oklahoma Historical Society has preserved ancient newsreel footage capturing some of the aftermath of the 1947 Woodward Tornado. The only problem is that watching this makes me feel we must be incredibly OLD.

So just click on the photo to see a few more images from our early morning walk.