Leon is still among the Living.

And Herman is floating in a jar.

Everything was rather uneventful.  Worse case scenario is that Herman is a fibrosarcoma.  They are malignant, and have a very high recurrence rate.   From what we can see, it does look like all of it was removed.   I might send Herman to the pathologist. I might not.

Leon is still rather groggy from anesthesia. I am a little surprised by that, but that is fine if he sleeps a little longer than some.  He does have some pain medication on board.

Here's Herman.

Leon has been teased about his husky self all his life.  And spent a lot of the time snacking on diet cat food.  In this case, that might have been a good thing as the tumor is surrounded by fat, rather than muscle tisse.   Plus, that means extra skin to pull closed over what was removed.

Check out what a "Cool" scar this is going to be . . . .  All the other kitties on the playground are going to be jealous.

We'll see what happens over the next few days, weeks and months.   Thanks to everyone for your good thoughts.   Have a nice weekend.

Herman Must Die

If you have been into the office during the past week, you've seen Leon walking around with a clipped spot over his left shoulder.

Leon, back in 2007. 

That's where his little buddy Herman lives.

Leon is my oldest hospital cat.  He's somewhere around 16 now, we guesstimate.  We aren't sure.  He was brought in to be euthanized way, way, WAY back in 95.  So we think he probably was born in 1994.  16 for a cat is about the human equivalent of 80, for a pet his size, if you are wondering. So he's no spring chicken. 

And I am always sort of watching for him to be doing like most old cats-  weight loss, drinking lots of water, urinating too much-  all the signs of old cat problems-  kidney failure, diabetes, hyperthyroidism.  There has been a few times that he didn't want to eat his food, which is highly unusual for him.  But he got over that.

It was probably 2 weeks ago I was petting him and felt something that shouldn't be there. Located under the skin and over his left shoulder blade.  Maybe a little larger than a golf ball, sort of oblong.  It's under the skin but I can pick it up. At this point I don't think it's attached to muscle.  It's close though.  It isn't raised much so it's sort of tough to see in the photo, but you can definitely feel it.

And since Leon is forced to live with a bunch of women- Priscilla, Maybelline, and Sunshine-  he chose to name his little friend Herman.  A little male bonding, you know how it is.

So, what to do, what to do about Herman?
For a 16 year old cat, do you do nothing? Watch for signs of pain, and eventually put him to sleep?
It probably depends on where Herman is,  what Herman is attached to, and how large Herman is.

Some places, some attachment, or with lymph node involvement, removing it isn't possible.
Some tumors are so large that trying to close the wound is a problem.
Then there's the whole issue of a 16 year old cat under anesthesia.

So, I've decided since Leon is fairly healthy otherwise for 16, and since Herman is hopefully not attached to much, to try and laser him off tomorrow at my Cousin's hospital with his fancy "big city" laser.   Herman might be malignant, with a high recurrence rate, something like fibrosarcoma.
Leon might have complications from anesthesia- and it that's the case, then I'll deal with that at the time.   Passing away under anesthesia, doesn't seem much different than being euthanized really.

I am gonna try and minimize the risks by giving him a low dose injectable anesthetic,  top it off with an inhalant anesthetic that doesn't have to be metabolized (it's just breathe in, and breathe out), and maybe use local anesthetic as well.

What's nice about the laser, is that it zaps tissue as it cuts.  No bleeding, no lymphatic drainage that might reseed  tumor cells, and zaps the nerve ending so less pain upon waking up.  

Hopefully, Leon will still be here this time tomorrow.  Without Herman.

If so,  he'll show you his scar and you can tell him how cool it looks.  He'll like that.

Happy Easter- Party Servers Arrived.

Hello Everyone-

Have a safe weekend if you happen to be traveling.  I am headed down to my parents for the annual Mathis Family Egg Hunt tomorrow.   It's a rather bid deal with my family, always has been, since I can remember.  When I was little it was always Sunday afternoon at my Grandparents house. Once my Grandmother passed away, it got moved to Saturday. It's a little easier that way since everyone has other obligations on Sunday.

I was surprised that the trays below arrived this afternoon.  You might have seen the discussion on facebook earlier in the week.  They are Party Servers.  They have a glass cutting board insert that can be removed and/or used separately.  It looks rather pretty sitting on one of those plate easels.

I ordered these with the cat painting, Can We Play Now, Please?, since that image gets requested a lot.  I might do a floral one next.

The cutting board is 8 inches square. Overall the serving tray is about 10 x 19 inches.  About 3/4 of an inch thick.  They are really nice- even I was a little surprised.

I have set up a coupon code at ArtFire that is good for 14 days.  They will retail for about $36 normally.  The coupon code saves  you  $8, bringing them down to $28.
(The cutting boards, by themselves, retail for around $20, so that's like getting the serving tray for just a little more).   

The coupon code is "partyserver".  It is one per person but feel free to share/ email the info around. I only have 10 of these.   Here's the listing at ArtFire.



 Have a nice weekend,

Marco- an Orange, Yellow Tabby Cat at Clowder House, Watercolor on Yupo

This painting started out with about 3 different photographs of 3 different cats.  Marco is sort of yellow-orange tabby with blue eyes who lives at Clowder House in St. Louis waiting to be adopted by his forever family.

Here is his photo.

 And here is the painting with a detail image.

After it was all said and done, I'm not so sure that I captured his likeness very well.  Who I captured I am not sure.  Some other orange tabby cat.   Felix?  Max?  Guido?  Perhaps.

It's 5 x 7 inches, Varnished Watercolor on Yupo board.  

I find it much more difficult to paint eyes when they are only about a 1/4 inch wide and at this scale.  I wiped these out twice, and almost did a third time, but decided to wait till this morning to see what it looked like.   I liked them a little better, so I've left them.  

My favorite part of this painting?  I think it's the little splashes of color that define his mouth and chin area.

Latte- A Portrait of a Siamese, Calico Cat

Karen Weidert, an online artist friend of mine, volunteers at Clowder House Foundation in St. Louis, Missouri. It's a Cat House. Seriously.

It's where homeless cats can live while they search for their forever home.

Karen posted some photos on her Facebook page, and I was blown away by a photo of a little Siamese- Calico Mix (?) cat named Latte. And I just had to paint her. Here's a link to her Photo Album. Apparently Ms. Latte is quite the camera hog- if you notice, about half the photos are of her.

I painted Latte's portrait last evening. It's a small painting, 5 x 7 inches. Varnished Watercolor on Yupo.

Here's a detail view of her face.

As far as I know, Latte is still looking for her forever home if you happen to know anyone who in interested.

Toby and Daisy

Toby and Daisy, a long haired dachshund and a shih tzu were in for their puppy vaccinations yesterday.  Both are about 10-11 weeks old.  I was unable to get a still photo of Daisy- you'll have to see her in the video.

I only got 1 of Toby, out of several tries, haha. 

Better Product Photos Equals Better Online Sales

I decided to write this post after a few emails with a jewelry artist today, who just insisted that there is no way that she can photograph her jewelry. Sending items to a professional is fine. They know their stuff. They have really nice cameras. But sometimes you need a photo quickly for a new product design, a blog post, a banner, or your facebook page. And one needs to learn to shoot these themselves. Nothing is sadder than a sad looking page with no photos.

No one pops out of the womb taking great photos. There is a little trial and error involved. And it's taken me awhile to get better at it, as well.

First, a fancy camera is nice. But not necessary. I keep a little point and shoot digital camera around the office and that is what I use. I do have a 35 mm SLR camera, not digital, but I rarely drag it out.
Mine is a Vivitar. 8 mb. I think it cost somewhere between $100 and $200. The little videos that I post are usually shot with it as well.


What is necessary is reading the manual and learning some of the different functions. If I am shooting product photos, I usually set the camera on a tripod. Either a regular tripod or a little tabletop tripod. And I usually use the timer with the tripod, as I drink too much coffee to not be all shakey, haha.

Up until recently I shot everything on Automatic, Auto, or the A setting. That should be the perfect photo, right? WRONG! And let me show you why. This photo below was shot on the A setting. The flourescent light in the ceiling is on as well.

What's that? Not bad you say? Can you take a break and go outside for recess? Keep reading. . . .

This next photo was shot on the P setting. The Program Setting. This allows one to change the white balance to flourescent light. Which is what is overhead on both of these photos. Everything else was the same, the tripod, etc.

See the difference just by changing the white balance to flourescent lighting? There is also an outdoor setting, and a tungsten setting.


The next trick I learned almost by accident. I was not happy with my photos and was playing with the settings. And I noticed that the P setting took nice photos, when in a darkened room, with flouresent lighting coming from the room next door. Here's a photo looking into the darkened exam room with the flowers on the exam table.

And here is what that photo looks like- with the white balance set for flourescents and in the darkened room.

Getting better, huh? Can you see how much more dramatic this photo is than the first two above?

This was the photo before I edited it just a tad in photoshop. If you don't have photoshop, you can use photoshop elements, iphoto, picasa, gimp, or even picnik (flickr). I adjusted the levels a little, and upped the brightness and contrast just a touch. The final photo is below.

Want to see them side be side for comparison? See how just a little adjustment makes a better photo? It pops a little more. You can click on the images, any of them, and they should enlarge a bit.

So, that's my little photo lesson on some basic things to try with your camera. Now, apply it to your product photos. I think you'll be surprised.

Don't forget to try the macro setting if you are shooting up close, or small things, like jewelry. Also read about the aperature settings if you like those photos where part of an object is in focus and part is not. I'll show you some examples of that in an upcoming blog post soon.

So study that manual and try different settings, different lighting situations. Some people like taking photos outside, or with natural light coming through a window or doorway. As long as you get clear photos that best show your items, how you get there isn't so important. Good photos are critical to selling items online as your customers can't see items in person. Average or below average photos will get you below average sales.

Happy Photo Opportunities.

Bo- Cavalier King Charles Spaniel

Hello. Y'all remember Bo. He was in today for his last puppy vaccination so it might be awhile before we see him again.  He's up to about 9 lbs.   He's such a quiet dog.  He rarely barks according to his owner.

What's that saying, "All Good Children should be Seen, and not Heard." ?

Bo is a good child then.

 





Because he isn't jumping around, carrying on like Yuma and Echo (love those two),  he is just so toy-like.   His family doesn't have other dogs or cats, and he rarely spends time outside.   He's around humans all the time,  I wonder if that contributes to his quietness.    Ever had a dog that didn't act like a dog?

Either way, quiet or loud, he's too cute.

A little Pit Bull Nugget

Y'all remember Pac from last February. Short for TuPac.
You first saw him here in this post.



Well, Mr. Pac is now a Daddy. That's right.    Meet Pete Pac Jr. 

 6 weeks old. He came in yesterday, to get checked out. He's really anemic, probably worms from his mom. 7 litter mates have died and he's the only 1 remaining. (and before you say or think anything, Pac owner doesn't own the Mom- he rescued this little guy when the others started fading away, and has been bottle feeding him, thinking that might have been a contributing factor)

He should be okay if we can get rid of the worms and his blood levels rise back to normal. See how pale his gums are.

Isn't  he cute?  You just want to squeeze him.

 

Mabel- Absolutely No Idea. Heinz 57?

This is Mabel. We have no idea how old she is, as she was found wandering on a lonesome dirt road last night.



We also have no IDER about what breed or breeds she might be mixed from/with. Chihuahua? Her face looks a little like King Charles Spaniel. Her fur reminds me of a Corgi.

She weighs about 5 lbs. She probably is somewhere between 6-12 weeks old. Feet don't seem to be very large. She has sort of curly fur on her back as you can see from the photo.




She might be up for adoption. The couple that found her aren't sure if they are keeping here, assuming she got dumped. Or if they will try to find her a home, or put her up for adoption. Her bark is more chihuahua than beagle. She has a bit of a cherry eye on the left side. That is common in some breeds such as beagles. If the cherry eye doesn't correct itself, it's a simple fix with a laser by lasering off the excessive tissue.