Crazy animal lady thread - sperg about your pets here

[Feefee81093]

Bébé is perfect

 

[Agent Abe Caprine]

It's day 7 of my monster's spay recovery. She's going insane. I had to give in today and let her enjoy a game of fetch. Really regretting not getting a soft cone that makes her look like a lion now. Did try a leopard print suit. She looked like an obnoxious, ornery granny that always has hard candy in her pocket.

No, I will not provide pictures. I forgot to take them. Should have put a red hat on her.

 

[Agent Abe Caprine]

Day 9. The monster is pissed off. She has gone a week without her favorite toy. The flirt pole. I cannot give her CBD due to it potentially messing with the same liver enzymes her post-surgery meds use. I have discovered one way to soothe her when she goes full hellhound.

Motorhead and Orange Goblin.

 

[glioblastoma multiforme]

I just gave my elderly tortie her first home injection of Solensia. I feel like I've done something terrible.

We can't afford to get it done at the vets every four weeks, its £95 vs £40 doing it ourselves, and the vets is such an ordeal for her that she needs gabapentin every time she goes.

I'm pretty sure I did it correctly, I tried to pull the syringe back and no air came into it, and I emptied the syringe contents into her before she managed to get out of my partners grip. We'd been given a demonstration by a vet nurse before they let us get a take home prescription.

I don't know why I feel so awful about giving her the best care I can. She just hates it. I have to further torture her on Tuesday as she's going to the vets due to rapid weight loss despite eating well. Compared to four weeks ago when we did the Solensia at the vets, there was so much less to grab in the scruff of her neck.

Pets getting old fucking sucks. I'll continue giving her the best care I can and she will continue hating me for it.

eta: she's just come and purred and let me give her head strokies. fucking hell i love this cat.

 

[Android raptor]

Yeah I had to help hold one of my friends snakes down who had a chronic illness to give him medicine. It wasn't fun

He ultimately passed and it was admittedly a bit relieving that he was no longer in pain or suffering.

 

[Dysnomia]

I moved into a 2nd floor apartment a block away and it's on a block loaded with ear tipped community cats. Ear tipping is when the vet cuts off the tip of one ear after spaying/neutering a feral cat. That way it's marked as fixed and released back to where it lives.

An ear tipped tortie who is friendly but won't let herself be touched has been hanging around me. She's been sitting out on the front porch a lot and I didn't know this. The guy downstairs asked a family member if it was our cat. And it sounded like he wasn't too thrilled she was hanging out there. But he has a gruff way of speaking regardless so maybe he wasn't mad. I hope not. I don't want any trouble with the neighbors. I honestly thought it was their cat at first because they look similar. But she doesn't go out as far as I know.

We have a male cat that goes out once a day. But since they are both fixed I don't think that's why she's showing up. There was a tortie explosion around here a few years back. Now there's a bunch of calicos too. Some people let the community cats into their houses to sleep and eat. She wanted to come in but I can't let her. My indoor female would not be happy and they'd fight. Plus I have a six month old kitten that's still a runt. If it was just me here I'd let her in if she wanted a warm place to sleep. But I can't. A guy three doors down feeds community cats and they go into his house. So maybe she tries this with other people. Cats are attracted to me like a magnet so I'm not surprised she likes me. She's very pretty. It's too bad she wasn't caught when she was young enough to be adopted.

I know I shouldn't have given her cat treats on Thanksgiving. But it was cold and I felt bad for her. I was trying to get my cat to come in and as I was calling him the tortie ran over. Being ear tipped doesn't mean she doesn't have a home. She might just be gluttonous. But her demeanor suggests she's not very domesticated. Just friendly enough to beg for food.

If I see her again I won't feed her treats near the house. I don't see her hanging out on any of the other porches where food is given out. So maybe she has a problem getting along.

 

[Agent Abe Caprine]

I'm playing the new Like a Dragon/Yakuza game and my monster/cane corso puppy is watching. She keeps whining like she's commenting on everything. When I beat all the guys up, she stops.

 

[Accept Only Substitutes]

We recently adopted a very sweet male cat. He's the third cat, and being a kitten he's irrational and super sweet, so we named him Sweetie Pi.

He loves to demand to be picked up, after which he snuggles into our shoulder and purrs. He loves to snuggle while my husband watches TV and sleep under the blankets with me. He likes to run around the house meowing at himself as he has the zoomies. He loves twist ties, usually dragging them up on the bed or a chair, dropping them, then jumping down to grab it, only to repeat over and over. Words don't express just how fitting his name is.

My two adults don't really like him, my elderly boy just ignores him unless Sweetie Pi gets up in his personal space. My five year old girl sometimes plays, sometimes hisses. She always runs though, even when she's mad at him. Which he thinks means play. Goofballs.

 

[TapewormSalesman]

Gave my birbs a hamster bridge

Spoiler: like this but hanging up top

in their new cage, thinking they might enjoy it. Unfortunately they like it a bit too much and it has turned into grounds for domestic dispute, as Mr Bird tries to chase the missus off the thing every evening, because he likes to stand on the upper platform and pose, while Mrs. Bird wants to sleep there. Now I'm not sure whether to give them a second one or let them settle this by themselves. They had one of those aliexpress bird bridges before, but that one never caused such a commotion

Spoiler: note the mini macaw

 

[Cobson Gemson]

meet bob

 

[Angry New Ager]

So yesterday, I drove 60 miles to a dismally undersized and underfunded public shelter to bring this good boy home, because Black Cat Lives Matter:

His name is Tiberius; he's at least 16 years old (his unregistered microchip was implanted in 2007), and he is just the most chill, friendly old man. While he's not too thrilled to see my cats, his body language shows that he's interested in them, not hostile. So while he hissed and growled at them during a short meet-and-greet this morning, I suspect he'll come around quickly. When I hang out with him in the bathroom, he purrs nonstop while making biscuits, and can't get enough laptime.

I regret nothing.

 

[glioblastoma multiforme]

His name is Tiberius; he's at least 16 years old (his unregistered microchip was implanted in 2007), and he is just the most chill, friendly old man

Gorgeous boy! Thank you so much for giving an older cat a chance. Glad he's settling in OK, is he in good health?

 

[Accept Only Substitutes]

When I hang out with him in the bathroom, he purrs nonstop while making biscuits, and can't get enough laptime.

Senior cats are the best. They just want to snuggle and sleep and soak up the love. He's precious.

 

[glioblastoma multiforme]

Senior cats are the best. They just want to snuggle and sleep and soak up the love. He's precious.

This is further evidence that mine is in fact a demon then. She does sleep a lot, def more than she used to, but when she's not sleeping she likes coming up to purr pretending to be friendly just so she can then swipe or nip you, or sometimes she fights with the younger cat.

She's never been overly affectionate so i treasure those moments of purring and strokies, even though they are almost always a trap. Still love her to absolute bits.

 

[Angry New Ager]

Gorgeous boy! Thank you so much for giving an older cat a chance. Glad he's settling in OK, is he in good health?

I love old cats! Seriously, they are the best. I get why they have such a hard time getting adopted, but it's really hard to see them end up in shelters, getting passed over for adoption when they should be spending what time they've got left in a home with somebody who loves them.

We have a vet appointment tomorrow, so I'll get to find out how he's doing. He was a stray, so no vet records. The shelter didn't do much of an exam beyond visually determining that he had no obvious illness or injury, and was therefore okay to put up for adoption. They didn't even do a FIV/FeLV combo snap test—they don't have a full-time vet, and spay/neuter gets farmed out to local vets and done after adoption, so vet care is minimal. (Blame the community that doesn't fund their shelter for that; the staff and volunteers are obviously doing the best they can with what little they've got.)

He's got the low muscle tone and rough coat of an untreated hyperthyroid cat, which is common at that age, but his teeth are surprisingly good, and he has no mobility or obvious hearing/vision issues. He's eating well, his poop looks good, and he's not peeing excessively. So fingers crossed that blood and urine don't turn up anything major.

Senior cats are the best. They just want to snuggle and sleep and soak up the love. He's precious.

I first adopted a pair of 17-year-old brothers back in 2010, and it felt like such a crazy thing to do, but I just couldn't leave them at the shelter. They lived to be 20 and 21, and were just the best cats. I've currently got a pair of 19-year-old brothers, who I adopted back in February, and I adore them.

In between, I've made a point of adopting cats who are at least 10 years old, and/or who have some issue that would make them very hard to adopt. I understand that not everybody is in a positon to do that—shit, I wasn't until I was in my 40s—but I always wanted to be that person. After spending a year doing palliative care for a younger cat with kidney failure, I realized I could finally stop being nervous about it and actually be that person, so I took the leap. It's not always easy, but it's been the most rewarding thing I've ever done.

This is further evidence that mine is in fact a demon then. She does sleep a lot, def more than she used to, but when she's not sleeping she likes coming up to purr pretending to be friendly just so she can then swipe or nip you, or sometimes she fights with the younger cat.

Is she a calico/tortie/torbie, by any chance? Because that's normal for them. They're always girls, and they're always bitchy in some way, LOL.

She's never been overly affectionate so i treasure those moments of purring and strokies, even though they are almost always a trap. Still love her to absolute bits.

When I was in my 20s, I had a grouchy Siamese mix dude who lived to be 14. He'd been abused and neglected before he came to me, so he didn't have much regard for humans, and was, frankly, kind of an asshole. But I felt sorry for him, so he was one of those "I can fix him!" projects that too many other women attempt with human men, but I've (thank fucking god) only done with cats.

Anyway, in the last year or so of his life he mellowed out, and was occasionally affectionate towards me, and each brief moment when he let me pet him, and purred, was like a gift that cancelled out all of his less-desirable behavior. I was utterly crushed when he died. Funny, how they can do that to you.

 

[Accept Only Substitutes]

My senior cat is causing me a lot of heartache and I don't know what to do.

He has stomatitis, an autoimmune disorder of the gums, where his body thinks his teeth are invaders and creates sores that get infected. He's had most of his teeth removed, but he still gets flare ups. He had diabetes which is now in remission, which is complicating things. The cure to a flare is an antibiotic shot to handle the infection and a steroid shot to stop the immune system response. . steroids obviously raise the blood sugar so it's not an appropriate treatment. We've had good luck with magic mouthwash which does have a small amount of steroids, but not enough to raise blood sugar.

The thing is he gets so angry at the vet now, which I really don't blame him for - for over a year he was at the vet thirty miles away every month for checkups on his teeth.

He's also got arthritis in his hips, which of course causes some pain.

When he's healthy he's such a happy kitty, he still likes to play, sometimes he gets the zoomies, he loves to cuddle, pushes his head into the petting, asks to be picked up (though that usually hurts his arthritis so I don't) - all the happy kitty stuff.

But he seems to be sick a lot. I have to take him to the vet tomorrow for a flare and he was just there a couple of months ago for a uri.

Is his quality of life getting to the point where it would be a kindness to put him to sleep? How much pain is he in on a daily basis? Is keeping him alive for the good days selfish when he's had such a rotten health history? Is he really a happy kitty most of the time or is he just trying to make mom happy? Is he sick more often than not? I'm pretty sure that's not the case, but I don't know.

I've never been in a position where it wasn't super obvious it was time to let them go.

I am going to start keeping track of his daily behavior, to at least answer my last question there. I know the selfish part of me doesn't want to say goodbye, he's the kitty love of my life. I also don't want him to suffer, and he has been sick a lot. I blame his street cat genetics for a lot of it. He was born to some ferals that adopted our yard for a time.

If anyone has words of wisdom, I'd appreciate them. I'm not asking to be told what to do, just looking for support or something from other people who've maybe been in my shoes..

 

[glioblastoma multiforme]

Is she a calico/tortie/torbie, by any chance? Because that's normal for them.

Yes she is!! My parents had torties when I was very young. Funnily enough my only memory of them was being scratched by one.

I had a grouchy Siamese mix dude who lived to be 14. He'd been abused and neglected before he came to me, so he didn't have much regard for humans

This is a bit like my older girl, they didn't know the exact detail but she got abandoned by her family when she was very young and pregnant. Someone took her to the vet, and she was microchipped, so they contacted the family who agreed to surrender her to the shelter rather than leave her to fend for herself as she had been.

Is his quality of life getting to the point where it would be a kindness to put him to sleep? How much pain is he in on a daily basis?

This is always the hardest question. I can't answer it for you, its difficult too because cats hide their pain so well until it becomes unbearable. Its such a horrible decision to have to make, I hope it went OK at the vet. It sounds like they know him well at least so will be able to give fully personalised advice.

I came to this thread to complain about living under a squeaky tyranny. Reading your last two posts made me just grateful that mine are in good health for their age and remember what absolute gifts all cats are, even if they are fucking annoying in the middle of the night....

 

[Accept Only Substitutes]

hope it went OK at the vet. It sounds like they know him well at least so will be able to give fully personalised advice.

It went really well. He was very well behaved, until the vet tried to listen to his heart/lungs. As soon as the vet stepped back he calmed down.

We decided to give him oral antibiotics rather than the shot and next week when that's all finished I'm going to start him on cyclosporine once a day for about six weeks.

Between the magic mouthwash and the antibiotics he's feeling much better again. He slept with us last night, he came out for food, and he played with some packing material from my husband's new desk for about ten minutes before climbing on my husband's desk to snooze.

I also saw a comment from a feline dental expert that claimed the disease takes three years to heal after having a full mouth extraction. It's been about two years, so if he's correct and the cyclosporine works as well as they say it does there's hope.

I also found a pharmacy that will make a transdermal gabapentin prescription. The vet said that was fine with them so today I have to call and get that ball rolling.

I'm feeling really optimistic right now about his future. I have a plan for his flares and his arthritis. We will see what the future holds, of course, but right now he's mostly back to my happy cat.

 

[glioblastoma multiforme]

Between the magic mouthwash and the antibiotics he's feeling much better again. He slept with us last night, he came out for food, and he played with some packing material from my husband's new desk for about ten minutes before climbing on my husband's desk to snooze.

Amazing! Its so lovely when they come back to themselves. I'm so glad it went well and you weren't faced with the most awful decision. It sounds like he's been through a lot and he is so lucky to have someone willing to be there with him and help him get through it.

I remember when Miss Tortitude was first put on pain medication for her arthritis, it was like night and day. I also have her on YuMove, a supplement that seems to help, but she is deteriorating and its sad to see. Glad I don't have to give her mouthwash though, she was given some toothpaste a long time ago when I needed to get some of her teeth extracted and she just started avoiding me all the time. How do you even apply the mouthwash?

Also how does the transdermal gabapentin work? Is it just like flea drops? I'm concerned missy will start associating the taste (we have liquid for her food cos tablets are also a nonstarter) with the vets and stop eating anything with it on, she's too canny for her own good sometimes. Anyway it might be good to have in my armoury.

 

[Accept Only Substitutes]

Also how does the transdermal gabapentin work? Is

This is the formulation I'm going to price. it looks pretty fool proof. You rubbtge cream on the inside of the ear and it absorbs through the skin.

I'll look up that supplement too. My poor street baby, it's been rough for him. We've spent an absolute fortune on him, but I don't regret a penny of it. He's the sweetest cat, unless he's at the vet, which given his history I totally understand!