There is a ginger cat that lives on the on the other end of the block and one street behind us. We walked by there the Sunday before last and Frankie decided to show the cat that he did not recognize his territory by sunning himself right in front of his house. It was like he was daring the ginger to do something about it.
We are so lucky that we have cats that like each other . . . mostly. Here are Chris and Floki hanging out together yesterday.
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.
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.
Chris’s new favorite place to hang out is now the favorite place for all our cats to hang out.
Chris has been spending a lot of time on his cat perch lately. As a result, Floki and Frankie have been hanging out with him.
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.
These photos were taken on this day in 2010 when we lived in South Carolina. From the top it is Abbey, Alex, and Tigger.
Notice the pool noodles under the railing. I put those there because Chris squeezed under the railing like a cockroach and Jumped to the ground from the third floor. It’s hard to see but I attached a screen across the railing using double sided tape. Above the railing I hung more screening that I could roll up and keep out of view when the cats were not outside.
Chris was outside that day too, but I didn’t capture him in the above photo. I do, however, have several photos of him fighting with Tigger. This was the only one not too blurry to show.
Here is a picture of Chris and Frankie the other night as I was lying in bed reading just before bedtime.
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.
Bad Cat Chris 