Frankie took me up to the clubhouse on one of our walks last week. When he couldn’t get in, he decided to wait on the bench.
Photo Friday: Benched
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Tag Archives: cat
The Good News and the Bad News
Chris seems to be doing well since being diagnosed with a kidney disorder. He doesn’t sleep as much and seems to have more energy. He gets up and down from his perch easier and has more desire to go outside.
The bad news is I’ve seen this before. I crudely weighed him this morning on our bathroom scale and he’s about 16 lb. He was between 20 and 21 lb when I took him to the vet.
Our cat Abbey had a similar issue with her kidneys. She started losing weight and her energy level went way up. I wasn’t sure if I should be concerned since she seemed to be doing better. When her weight kept going down we took her to the vet who told us she was in decline. It was difficult to accept since she was only 8 years old. The weight kept coming off and too soon we had to say goodbye.
I am giving Chris a special food for the kidneys as well as an herbal supplement. Those options weren’t given to me when Abbey was sick. I’m hoping we can keep this terrible disease at bay for a while longer.
Something is Different with Our Cats
Something changed a little over a month ago. Look at the photo below and see if you can tell what’s different?
Did you figure it out? They are all wearing collars now. Specifically, they are wearing Seresto collars.
My wife always pushed to have flea medication put on our cats, but I resisted because I thought putting poison on a cat might not be healthy. I was usually able to extend the treatment to once every two months or so but then one of them would scratch an itch and we would suddenly need to prepare for Armageddon. Finally, someone told my wife about Seresto flea collars, and she was all in. My boss also uses them, and she agreed that they are a great product.
Since our cats never wore collars (except during moves) I wasn’t sure how they would react to them, but they accepted the collars without much complaining. They are not cheap, $81 for two collars, but they last eight months. Our other flea treatment was way more expensive, even when used only every other month.
Does anyone else use Seresto? What do you think about them?
Delilah and Me
My wife and I were invited to a cookout at my boss’s house over a month ago. As I was looking through pictures today, I came across one from that day. I meant to post it then but forgot.
My boss has three cats. Bill hangs out on the pool table near where I work. He is very friendly. Sampson will sometimes meet me outside when I get to work and then come in with me. He is also friendly, but I only see him occasionally. Delilah is usually outside in the back yard where I almost never see her. Since we were hanging out in her territory that day, she had no problem coming to me for attention.
Photo Friday: Area of Concern
Chris has been spending a lot of time on his cat perch. It is good that he is still able to get up there but it is also concerning because I almost never see him holding vigil at his food bowl waiting for someone to put fresh food on top of not-so-fresh-food.
The fact that he is losing his appetite worries me.
Throwback Thursday: Floki Loves His Mouse
This post is from August of 2016. At eight years old, Floki still plays with his mice like he did as a kitten
Chris Visits the Vet
Chris has been puking more than usual lately so I took him to the vet Friday morning. Chris used to like vet visits. It was a chance to explore, but as he got older the vets started doing things that were more unpleasant, so Chris gradually turned into one of those pets that the vet techs dread seeing.
They put us in an exam room shortly after arriving at the vet. I opened Chris’s carrier, but he had no inclination to leave it.
The vet came in with her vet tech, who picked up Chris and placed him on the table. The vet felt around Chris’s body to a chorus of grunts and howls. When the vet tech tried to take Chris’s temperature, he resisted. He dug both sets of claws into her arm and tried to pull himself off the table. When that didn’t work, he started peeing, and didn’t stop for a long time.
She eventually got his temperature and then they took Chris to another room to get blood work done. I could hear the howling in the distance. The tech then cam back with a large towel to wipe up all the pee.
I got the results from the vet today. She said Chris suffers from “moderate kidney disfunction.” She also said he has early signs of liver problems. She recommended a special renal diet for him. She said you can’t fix kidney disease. You can only slow its progression. So, here’s hoping for a slow progression.
Photo Friday: Happening Now
My wife got a shipment yesterday, removed the flaps on the box, and put it on the floor for the cats. I noticed Floki sleeping in it last night. This morning Rose couldn’t sleep and, while she was up, put a towel in the box. She woke me up when she came back to bed so I got up and saw Chris napping in the box.
If we paid top dollar for a cat bed it wouldn’t get used as much
Photo Friday: Classic Basket Case
Here is a picture of Chris taken fourteen years ago yesterday when Chris was about a year old. He is in a basket next to my wife who made beaded jewelry as a hobby at the time.
Chris Turns Fifteen
Can you believe Chris is fifteen? Sometimes, like after waking up to find puke and poop all over the house, I think he won’t make it to his sixteenth birthday. Other times, like as I write this, I see he has climbed up to his perch with no problem. That gives me hope.
He can also still be bad, although in more subtle ways, like turning over his food bowls.
I’m not going to dwell on how much time he has left, instead, I will enjoy each day he is with us. I will also remember some of his antics when he was young.
Bad Cat Chris 