Thread by @bombsfall

Saturday

sid get off the accordion you can't even play it

Sunday afternoon

Bethany is bagging up pin packs for the NITW merch shop and helpers have arrived

Tuesday

intense violence in my office rn

Sid is VERY SMART

I haven't posted much about Sid's health over the past few days because we're waiting for some tests to come back. But the shorthand is he sort of plateaued and was still coughing a bunch and his belly was still swollen so last friday Bethany took him in for vet visit #5 or 6

and the vet drew fluid from his belly and was like welp that looks like FIP do you want me to euthanize him and Bethany was like UH NO. Sid doesn't have most of the symptoms of FIP aside from that, so the vet sent away for tests which we're still waiting for.

He eats plenty, plays all the time, and not eating + basically starving are big FIP symptoms. And the wet kind of FIP which is what he would have acts pretty fast in kittens and he's like... mildly sick but that's it? For weeks? Like plateaued at "light cold". So idk

So in the meantime the vet put Sid on yet another course of antibiotics and steroids (which she meant as like end of life care). Since then Sid has been all but running around lifting weights.

He is hyperactive and still eating all food that isn't nailed down. If this was FIP he *should* need the steroids just to function but he was already functioning and now he's like

So yeah we're not sure. He just has a dry cough now and the very rare trickle of snot. Which I know is partly the steroids but yeah. Who knows. We're hoping for the best and will keep trying until all options are spent.

This kitten is very expensive.

it's chill time

Sid's results came back negative for FIP, vet still thinks he has it anyway, stay tuned for more.

SID ENDURES

Morning

Friday stairs

Fern has discovered the concept of the laundry basket.

Sid update: sniffles and sneezing and some coughing fits. Otherwise just going about his business.

He still eats like a hog and when he's not sprinting around and wrestling with Fern he's doing this. I don't know. What even is health really

sound up for Sid noises

At the vet hospital with Sid. Feeling anxious about this one. The only funny thing is they can't x-ray his abdomen because he has so much gas after a meal. Sid you need to fart a bunch so radiation can image you

Sid blocks penetrating rays via being a fart machine

I don't know what's going to happen with the boy Sid. I am sad.

We're at a different vet hospital. This is the third vet in the past month. Probably the 6th visit overall.

Update: the vet says that she can't rule in or out FIP but she doesn't think he has that. What she thinks at the moment is he has
1. a long running standard kitten upper respiratory bug
and
2. an absolutely massive gas issue. Just so full of farts it's alarming.

Vet: "his belly is just so distended from the gas, he is just SO bloated, that's probably where some of his gasping is coming from, like when you eat so much and get so bloated you almost can't breathe..."

Now the less funny part is figuring out why he is like this. So we're waiting for them to literally drain the gas from his stomach and do an ultrasound. Thanks for tuning into this vet hospital visit livetweet

SID IS HOME
AND ALIVE

The short version is it could be a few different things but we won't know until we try some new meds and give it a week, but at the moment none of it seems life threatening and FIP seems less likely than a combo of other stuff. So hey that's very very good news. Finally. For now.

Sunday

Sunday evening

Monday

Fern

FERN! WHY DID YOU DO THIS

i just walked out of the office and i have no idea how long she's just been sitting there barely holding on. she eventually fell very hard onto the stairs and rolled down to the floor

Sid is working hard at getting into this afternoon nap.

As always, Sound Up For Sid (SUFS)

Sid really speaking for all of us right now

Wednesday

Sid update: the boy is doing much, much better. New antibiotic and being off steroids is agreeing with him. Very few sniffles or coughs. Gasiness isn't gone but it's down. This is like the healthiest he's been since we got him I think. So fingers crossed that this continues.

SID ENDURES

Sid really has some strong Victorian advertisement illustration vibes going on sometimes

Sid and Fern are at the vet for a scheduled checkup. Which is funny b/c Sid has been to a vet half a dozen times since last checkup.
WEIGH IN:
Sid is 2.7 lbs ☹️
Fern is 4.9 lbs 😮

the good news is that a few weeks ago at his sickest Sid was down to like 1.2 and last friday he was like 2.4 SO WE'RE MAKING HEADWAY. need more bloodwork though as we figure out where all this food he eats is going.

he's been thoroughly dewormed and none have ever been detected in him, and he doesn't have diarrhea nor is he puking all the time. he just has a black hole where food goes in his very gassy stomach

Everyone at the vet loves Fern and says she's beautiful and charming and is growing well and is starting to lose her kitten teeth. You hear it more and more: Fern is good

a lot of the issues we're having with Fern beating up Sid is probably just because she's almost twice his size now. he fights back and has fun doing it but i mean there's only so much he can do before he gets overwhelmed

I mean

Depending on the light and pose Sid is either a ratty stuffed bear or a grand beast with the face of a forest god.

A small one, but still.

We had a mouse in last night, but it stayed up on the kitchen counters. Sid and Fern's debut as mousers will have to wait.

Saturday

I was watching NES Works from @gamespite and Fern decided that the sun from SMB3 was an actual creature in the room and ran to the edges of the tv waiting for it to fly out so she could catch it. Oh Fern, that's a false sun.

Fern likes tv

Tuesday

Fern is constantly posing for the author pic on the back of the hardcover of her forthcoming book

It is never not funny to me that Sid's original name at the shelter was RAVEN

The majestic and mysterious RAVEN

Fern tends to silently prowl around in the dark nearby on your way to bed. You have to be careful not to trip on her on the stairs or in the upstairs hall.

vet: so his throat inflates when he breathes, like a bullfrog
us: yeah
vet: that's not normal, obviously
us: yeah
vet: and he has a lack of meow
me: yeah he just sort of crackles and quacks at you
vet: yes and that is an abnormal sound
me: it's cute
vet: it is very cute, yes.

vet: so we need to see if he has an esophageal fistula or maybe an issue with his larynx, which might be caused by past trauma or... some kitties are- and i say this with the most love- sometimes you just get a lemon kitty from birth
us: did you say "lemon kitty"
vet: yeaahhh....

according to the vet the definition of Lemon Kitty is a cat born with multiple issues that don't have an easy diagnosis. can't pinpoint an inciting incident where they were injured or were exposed to something. just rolls off the lot with a bullfrog throat and lack of meow

anyway we thought it was funny and the vet seemed very apologetic for using what i think is just vet shop talk. we are going to make Sid into a Lemonade Kitty

Sid Catfield, Lemonade Kitty

Sid is back, a bit loopy from sedation. One of the vets sheepishly told Bethany they put a bandana on him, for fashion purposes more than medical.

Fern remains fine. She's applying to law schools and finishing up a research paper she's going to submit to journals right after track season is over this fall. She's also a notary public now.

SID DIAGNOSIS UDPATE: x-rays have revealed a nasopharyngeal polyp, which basically means he's got a growth fucking with his sinuses and airway. There are questions if there is anything else going on with him but this explains a lot of symptoms. And it's something we can fix!

We have to wait a month for him to grow a bit so they can operate and remove it. Bethany asked if the polyp and surrounding issues helped explain his smallness and they said maybe but also he might just be a tiny dude with big paws. So we'll see.

unbelievably expensive cat. thanks for buying our video game, it pays for Sid's mountain of vet costs

"udpate"

Thursday

So I don't know if I've addressed this here or not, but as much as Fern projects an air of sophistication and having it all together... Fern kinda smells. Like if she's in your face she has this sort of gamey wild animal ass smell. I would say it's a secret but she is not ashamed

We thought it might be her ANAL GLANDS but the vet said no. So she might just sort of smell. It's part of who she is. As far as evolution has a say in it she really should be out roaming a farm somewhere but now she's living in a house and learning french and how to play piano.

Saturday. Took the food processor out of the cabinet. Door was open about 20 seconds before I turned back around.

When the dude you live with is eating tuna and won't give you any despite you getting your driver's license today, as a four month old, and a CAT.

Back at the ER with Sid. We were supposed to wait a month for surgery and more testing but his breathing has gone super downhill in the past 24 hours and now he's on oxygen and they're stabilizing him overnight and tomorrow we'll be talking to a specialist at the hospital.

With Sid everything is fine and looking up until it suddenly isn't. I am sad. I hope he'll be ok.

Vet: looking at his records, Sid's an interesting little guy

Us: haha yeah

Vet: ...and unfortunately I'm this situation you don't want to be interesting

Us: oh

Sid romps and plays and wrestles and eats constantly so he's not like having quality of life issues that would make us feel that this is just prolonging suffering, so we're going ahead with just speeding all of this up bc we apparently don't have the luxury of waiting now

The only issue is he's very young and very scrawny and has breathing issues so options get very limited and risky very fast. So we'll see.

For context on how we're feeling I guess, if you're a new follower this is actually the second big long cat thread this year. The first was saying goodbye to Ico.

Sid is going into surgery today to try to remove any polyp they find and open up his airway so they can get at whatever is happening in his esophagus. So yeah. Let's go vets, let's go Sid.

Expanding my demand for universal healthcare to cats

Fern is going out of her mind without Sid to romp and wrestle with. We are poor substitutes.

SID UPDATE: Vet called. He made it through surgery. They removed a poly from his nasal area/throat the size of a QUARTER. He is a tiny guy, no wonder he's been having so much trouble breathing. He should be home tonight after they observe him for a few hours.

A QUARTER!!!!

*polyp

although who knows maybe it was polygonal

so yeah this isn't going to solve all of his problems, we still have a ways to go, but wow this certainly should help

from 🔒 account:
this is how Sid sounds now

Vet, holding cat carrier: he's like an entirely different cat already
Us: wow really?
*cat carrier shakes*
Vet: he's climbing the walls

SID SPEAKS!!
#SoundUpForSid

His throat is pretty messed up but still! He speaks! And is very hyperactive and wants dinner.

The animal hospital staff were impressed by the polyp and saved it in a jar. This is what was causing at least some of the problems for Sid. Look at the size of this thing that came out of the nose/throat of a 2.7 lb, 4 month old cat.

CW: gross thing that came out of our cat

SID ENDURES

Sid sounds totally different and smells like the animal hospital and Fern hasn't seen him in 24 hours and it's taking her a few minutes to not be weirded out by post-surgery Sid.

I keep walking by the polyp in the little jar on the counter next to the espresso maker.

Sid update, night after operation: due to being jacked up on steroids and being able to breathe clearly for seemingly the first time in his young life, Sid ran around for several hours straight before finally remembering he'd been through a lot and subsequently passing out.

No more mouth breathing, no more crackles and quacks. Some chirps, some actual meowish sounds. It's weird seeing him just silently hanging out without his tongue hanging out. No labored breathing, no snot. Who knows what will happen going forward but it's night and day difference

Sid has been more than a match for Fern and she for a while seemed very spooked by it. I imagine she's regretting her past violence during his weakest moments.

we've always put out dry food for them along with the twice daily wet food and they mostly just poke at it. Sid came home and ate all of it, and then later we caught him sniffing out the can where it's kept and trying to get into it. this is new

fingers crossed for Sid who honestly should be doubling his weight and growing as soon as possible. BULK UP SID GET SWOLE

tuesday morning

sid has a message
#SoundUpForSid

What I like about Sid's meow is it keeps the weird clicks, they're just the start of the full meow.

Things are mostly back to normal

Here is a size comparison between the polyp and Sid's head. Amazing. It was killing him and now it's in a jar, in the garbage, and Sid is still here.

CW: gross thing that came out of our cat

They get equal amounts of attention at home, Fern possibly more since she tends to follow us around a lot, but I think she'd understand why Sid is Twitter's favorite. Her story thus far is "athletic and pretty cat who is very smart". Sid is a scrawny weirdo with an entire arc.

It sat empty for 6 months. No longer.

Sid has one of those cat stress eye things going on where that gross other eyelid comes into view but otherwise

Weird eye aside, Sid is the best he's ever been.

Fern is here for some real talk

Lazy Saturday

Bethany is witnessing some extreme Sid relaxation right now

Saturday night, 2am

Monday morning

Fern

Monday afternoon

still frame from a video of whatever this is walking through the kitchen

we weren't expecting so much fan art but i'm sure if the cats could comprehend it they'd appreciate it too

tried to take a nice pic of us

The boy G R O W S

Update: Fern has unlocked counters

Wednesday morning

Sid

my late night SGDQ watching crew are failing, like unto the disciples in the garden of Gethsemane

As of today we have had these two in our house for 2 months. Can you believe it's only been 2 months? They're only like 4.5 months old too. These cats dilate time. Sid is a strange little space cadet who is now much healthier. Fern remains an academic and a jock. We love them.

Who knows what the future holds but saving Sid in particular was like clawing something back out of this past very very bad year full of death and loss. Felt like if Sid could survive there was hope for the future. I don't want so speak too soon but for now it's good.

Friday night Fern

If we're going by classic cat lore, how many of his 9 lives has Sid burned through already?

Saturday. Also Bethany made them collars.

Important News!

bethany made them and has announced plans for holiday-appropriate ones in the future

Other than his eye Sid is just a (relatively) normal kitten now. Weird little bear from space.

A lot of people suggested this, so: We're selling a cool shirt to pay for Sid's very large vet bills (and future ones to come). Printed on nice shirts with nice inks, and I drew the design while Sid slept on me. So it's got his approval. Get it at->
compressmerch.com/collections/ve…

this is the first time i've had official merch of
1. a pet
2. a tweet thread

Bethany gave Sid a freeze dried salmon treat and he snapped and went into Full Bear Mode. #SoundUpForSid

Monday night

Now that he can speak he basically never shuts up
#SoundUpForSid

Fern isn't even 5 months old yet and she looks like this. Her lanky proportions and dust bowl farmer photo face make her seem larger than she is but she's certainly not tiny. She is going to be an extremely distinguished looking adult.

🎶god gave fern and sid to you🎶
🎶gave sid and fern to you🎶
🎶put 'em in the soul of everyone🎶

SID SONG

last night

?

So this is a thing. Kittens do this but Sid is VERY INTENSE and he does it to like your shoulder. It's gotten more common since his surgery. I try not to let him do it for more than a few seconds since I don't want him to ingest fabric or thread. But still, my shoulder is wet.

☝️#SoundUpForSid

If anyone wants to volunteer a goat for our black cat to nurse on I can promise curse-free crops or something involving the evil eye.

The late great Ico did this to a lesser degree. As a kitten he suckled several holes in a wool sweater I got from Old Navy which was at the time the nicest article of clothing I owned. Bethany saw him drag it across the floor into the closet, as a tiny baby. Took a while.

Sunday morning

zzz

Sid does a thing now where he picks up something and marches around the house letting everyone know about it. You can hear him coming. #SoundUpForSid

Sid

Tuesday morning

The cats are hanging out behind the fabric on Bethany's fabric shelf. Watch to the end. #SoundUpForSid

On the other end of the spectrum, here is how Fern exited.

listen Sid I was trying to fish your cat toy out from under the couch and this isn't helping

Friday Fern

Saturday morning

Peak performance

They have an entire house to nap in but more often than not they end up cramming themselves together in one spot.

good morning #SoundUpForSid

wednesday morning, bright and early

We were hanging around outside too long

Bethany: he did this for like 15 minutes
Me: was there a moth up there?
Bethany: no
Me: oh

#SoundUpForSid

Monday morning Sid wakeup call

two months on the stairs

Crisis: Fern is sick! Got a crusty eye and is being antisocial and slow and not eating much. Bethany is calling the vet. Frankly she's been almost too healthy up until now, like unnaturally healthy for a kitten. So she's due for a cold.

I mean, aside from the almost dying part from before we got her.

Sid is keeping watch over her, like when they first met as babies. They still are babies I guess, they won't be six months old for another few weeks.

Attention: Sid has learned to fetch

we did this for like 10 minutes across two floors and he's now back for more and i have work to do

game delayed due to Sid

Also I've figured out why I keep finding my shoes untied in the morning

These last few tweets brought to you by the fact that Fern is at the vet so Sid is bored

Update from Bethany: this is Fern's first solo vet visit and she is so afraid she's shaking and crying and Bethany has to put her hand on her to get her to calm down. Sid is of course a vet pro. Today at least, Fern needs Sid to feel confident.

So Fern is fine! She has feline herpes which is very common and mostly just means we have to put some cream on her eyes for a week and she'll be a-ok. Also: she weighs 7lbs now!

Sid has a surprise.
DOUBLE FANGS.
All it means is he's about to lose his baby fangs but for the moment he is twice as deadly.

we have hit the point where the kittens are large enough that their romping and attacking has entered the realm of bodily harm (to me) and general damage to the environment. they are both burly cats and they have that kitten hyperactivity and i am bleeding a lot these days

Tuesday

We took Sid to the hospital for his six weeks post-surgery checkup this morning and he has a completely clean bill of health and now weighs 5.3 POUNDS!! 💪💪 He has quadrupled in size from his sickest point back in July.

The vet said Sid has "officially been given his graduation cap". Everyone is amazed he is still here and is so healthy. I am more emotional about this than I was expecting to be.

The vets put a bandana on him again.

SID ENDURES

new collars for growing cats

who wants to witness a powerful cat

People ask what Fern sounds like since she is harder to capture in action than Sid. She has two modes: high, clear, chirpy "mew" 20% of the time, the other 80% are sounds on the raspiness scale between "raaeeow" and "dinosaur noises"

MILESTONE: Sid has now also unlocked countertops, via intelligence and agility

Sid doesn't have the raw leg size and power that Fern does so he has to use his BRAIN to scale such heights.

i feel like that vid really showcases that Sid has, for real, quadrupled in size since July.