Does your Cat (or any pet) misbehave since caregiving your loved one?
Have you been required to take care of your loved one's pet after they have passed? Does your pet have cute antics that entertain your loved one?
And finally, has the cat or dog transferred their loyalty to your Mother?
Bruce does NOT like the vet's office.
The up side is I'm the one who took him out of there after the thermometer incident, so he was extra lovey-dovey when we got back here, and still is. I think I'm his hero now!
Edit: the funny thing is, everyone at the vet's office adores Bruce. We are kind of in the "poorer" side of town. The vet's office does a brisk business in doggies....but I think they mostly see cats when they're sick and/or at the end of life. So even the vet himself giggles when he sees fluffy, shiny, healthy, curious Kitten-Bruce.
Back in the 1970's I had a Siamese mix "Alex" that had a variety of sounds, so I tried word association with him. Just a couple of words to see if he would parrot them and understand the word usage. I used the "one word" only technique as that was easier. Like the words "Mom", "Out", "No", etc.
Eventually Alex surprised me with one sentence "I want out" in cat accent. It was clear enough sounding that when we had friends over to visit, both of them said "did that cat say what I think he said 'I want out'?" Then we started talking about it, ignoring the cat, Alex was losing patience so he then said "I want out NOW !!" Oh my gosh, we were rolling on the floor laughing, and yes, Alex went outside.
So I have been doing the word association with Charlie for the past 17 years. He has an interesting vocabulary. Charlie would be upstairs and I would be downstairs calling for him. I start laughing whenever he would say "what?" like he is annoyed.
Cats can be so interesting :))
Now Bruce, he may be a talker. He has a few sounds....the cutest one is the "chirp." Which he uses when he's feeling kittenish and lovey-dovey and is about to jump on me. I am not sure if I want to encourage this, though.
I dated this guy once....it lasted MAYBE two months. And his cats....they never, ever, EVER shut up! After it was over, I realized they were a product of his way of being....because HE never, ever, EVER shut up either! Drove me mad! It was like he constantly had to fill up any peaceful, silent space with the noise of his own voice. Even when we weren't hanging out together, he'd be texting me all day. (I was working on a friend's ranch then, and didn't have free hands for that nonsense, never mind time to stop and reply. "Don't you have work to do?" I'd eventually text. "I'm doing it!" he'd text back from the comfort of his desk.) (Yeah, that was never gonna work out.)
My point....I realized my cats' silence is a product of my own lifestyle, which is to enjoy a lot of quiet time at home. (As a musician, I like to be able to hear the music in my head.) So I dunno if Bruce will ever become a chatty fellow.
I read somewhere that cats are actually pretty silent creatures once they become adults (except for their mating rituals), and that they developed their vocalizations solely for the purpose of communicating with humans, rather than other cats! Which is kind of neat!
Yesterday the Vet gave me Royal Canin to try as I hadn't tried that brand before. Say what? Charlie was actually eating the wet food. I hope tomorrow he does the same thing... you know how cats can be.... you find something they like to eat, order a case of it, and they totally ignore the 2nd can.... [sign].
My best guy friend faithfully feeds Royal Canin from the time they are kittens. His cats now are only 4 (siblings), so it's too soon to tell.....but the two he had before them lived to 19 and 21, respectively. I'm skeptical of prescription diets, but there must be something good in the Royal Canin! That is, if Charlie will eat it......
Edit: I have a bunch of canned food my cats have done the exact same thing with! I was thinking I would take them to the SPCA next week, along with the 2 lovely, soft, not-so-cheap beds I bought just before I brought Bruce home, that neither of them will use. Or I might take them to the pet food bank....they just opened up last year. You might have a pet food bank in your area, too. Or even the regular food banks will accept and distribute pet food. (I think you call them food pantries in the US?)
Kidney failure is very common in older cats in fact my Vet daughter says most get it sooner or later.
I think the special diet promotes the cat to drink even more water. The secret of more water is to place numerous water bowls around the house.
So far he has refused any and all special diet dry food. It's a tough call, as the cat is on the thin side and I rather see him eat whatever he likes then loose weight. The cat is 17 years old, similar to an elder parent, you just give up and let them have ice cream for breakfast :P
So that's how that happens, sometimes.
Young Bruce would eat anything, but I'm still accommodating my girl. She is going to be 14 this year, and lost her lifelong best friend/companion only a year ago (and since mine are indoor cats, it's not like she had any other cat friends).....she's probably earned the right to eat nothing but pate.
Kidney disease - as I've learned from my mom and her kidney disease - can be somewhat managed (or managed for a time) with diet. My mom managed to maintain her kidney function at a static level - and thus avoid dialysis - for 10 extra years just by following the dietician's guidelines to the letter.
So nice to see you posting today.
I am very sorry about your losing the old guy.
It is never easy to lose our pets, when they have become our family.
Condolences.
I guess I subconsciously knew more than I'd like to admit, because 2 weeks before he died, he had a strange episode that had me ready to run him to the vet, but he recovered, other than being a little lethargic for a couple of days. I thought maybe he just had a bug. But something was telling me to get ready, so I ordered what was needed to take care of him until I can make a place for him in the yard. (I can't afford to cremate him and can't bury him - ground is frozen.) I guess my intuition was right.
I think he had a series of strokes in a very short span of time. It was terrible to watch. I had someone coming to help me get him to the vet, because he's a large dog and weighed about 100lbs - no way could I carry him out to the van - but they didn't make it in time and he died at home. I knew the vet couldn't help him, but I wanted them to end his suffering. He just went too fast. I guess that was a hard lesson learned - if I have another dog, it needs to be one that I can carry myself. :-(
I think I've had enough loss and death for a while. I'm glad he didn't pass away any sooner - like right after Mom passed. At least he was here with me for a while and was a comfort during that process.
I plan to check Chewy.com and see what regular off the shelf wet cat food has lower protein. Has to be 5% or 6% compared to 12% or whatever. Dry food is like, yikes, 30% protein compared to 20% diet. Much easier using Chewy as the website shows the ingredients, then standing in PetSmart for two hours trying to read the tiny print on all the cat food cans :P
There is a variety of new cat soups that is out that I noticed has low protein. My cat just slurps up the juice and leave the fish or chicken behind for the other cat to eat.
Year of the dog
My year has already gone to the dogs.
(Note: if anyone else finds themselves in this position, there are Ebay sellers that offer bags just for this purpose.)
I get her in the car for dialysis and tell her to put on her seatbelt. She starts playing with the window.
"What are you doing mom?"
"I'm...trying to open the door."
"Why are you opening the window then?"
"I don't know."
"Ok," I say, activating the window child lock. "Use the black handle on the door."
She pushes the window switch a few more times, then eventually finds her way along the door to the handle, pulls at her coat (which wasn't actually stuck), and tries to use the door opener to close the door.
Of course it doesn't close that way.
"Mom, use the other handle. No, the other handle. No, the other handle. Not the window. Go down. No, down. Now to your right. Your other right. Further. No, not that handle, the other one. The other one. The other handle, mom. Look below that one. See that handle? It's the same colour as the door, can you see it now? See how it indents?"
She pulls on the door. It doesn't click all the way shut. I tell her. She opens it and tries again. It doesn't click shut. Finally I lean over and open/close it properly.
"Ok, now put on your seatbelt."
Mom starts playing with the window button.
Ok, well you can imagine how it all went from there.
After that and about a half dozen other scenarios of things going off the rails, I finally leave her in the hands of the hospital porter for dialysis. I get in the car. Start it up.
The radio starts playing Ozzy Osbourne's "Crazy Train."
"I'm going off the rails on a crazy train......."
I rest my head on the steering wheel.
Sorry for changing tense, here, but....I have to. I can't live like that's the present anymore! Lol.
I gave up on my errands halfway through this afternoon. I sat in the parking lot at Safeway and, instead of going in, I said, "Screw this, I'm going to start my day again and go hug my kitten."
And then I got in the door, and Bruce was already coming towards me. I put on my excited voice and said "Hello Bruce! Hello my boy!" And he was all fluffy and happy. He lifted his front paws to be picked up. We cuddled hard and then I ruffled his fur a few times. I could hear the deep rumble in his chest.
I just had to post this because.....aren't animals awesome? Aren't they really just the best thing on earth? I think so, anyway.