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?
When I was about 18, I volunteered to make a birthday cake (from a mix) for my older brother's girlfriend, whom I adored.
At the time, I had a pet budgie, Jasper. Being my only pet and my best buddy since I was 12 (he left home with me!), he was fairly free to fly around my apartment whenever he wanted.
Well. Guess who flew RIGHT into the bowl of cake batter?
I didn't have the money to buy a new box of cake mix. So I cleaned Jasper up under the faucet, picked the feathers out of the batter, and went right ahead and baked that cake!
Never told a soul until now....
CM - that must have been REALLY good pizza.
Then she couldn't remember where were the litter-boxes, so she would go on the carpet or wood floors... but only on the east side of the house. She did live to be 21.
Then ten years later another one of my cats started with the same crying in the same hallway. Once again I thought here we go again with the library table. So out of curiosity I placed a small antique cabinet next to the library table. I was so surprised the cat stopped the crying for awhile.
But a year later she started the crying again. This time I added a very long antique colored runner over the hardwood floor. I guess the design in the rug was enough to distract her from crying. She did live to be 17.
The vet said some pets as they age will be in a room and not see anyone or the other cats, so they become confused. Thus, my gals were "getting lost in the hallway".... [sigh]. Other cats I had that lived mainly to 17 or 18 didn't develop dementia.
Serves him right.
I've got nothing
From muzzle to tail Dog is 34" long. Allowing for back legs, I reckon a full standing height of no more than 44". Plus extended tongue..?!
The counter is 37" from the floor. The pizza was on a 3" thick board approximately 15" back from the front edge of the counter.
Did he have an accomplice? Did he fetch the step-stool from the hall, get the pizza, and put the stool away to cover his tracks? - (in which case leaving the hot peppers on the kitchen floor was the wrong move).
It's some consolation that the empty box says he saved me 726 calories. Almost makes up for the hour he spent contentedly washing his paws and looking pleased with himself. Delicious pepperoni, that. Can you get it again, Mummy?
I hope he has tummy ache ALL DAY.
To be honest, pizza triggers a primal instinct in me, as well.
Scores for tonight's dinner: Dog 2, Self 0. While I was posting, he spotted the American Hot pizza waiting for the oven to preheat and snaffled it off the kitchen counter. Amazing how stealthy and agile a supposedly demented, arthritic, geriatric dog can be when there's a pizza in it for him.
Lucky he doesn't like Bistro salad, I guess.
I've a good mind to tuck into a frozen block of lamb with brown rice and mixed vegetables just to get my own back.
He is not looking very repentant.
One time, though, I had a cat diagnosed with hyperthyroidism. The first option was to FLY the cat (who was 11) to Vancouver for 6 MONTHS of radioactive iodine treatment! Umm.....
Ok, I loved that cat to bits, but that would have cost 2.5x more than I paid for my car at the time. So it also turns out I have limits, lol. (Plus she had major separation anxiety, so that helped with the decision to turn down option #1.)
I haven't yet found my personal line to draw (I once spent £25 trying to have a hamster resuscitated), I just feel there must be one.
There is a blind Scottie dog near us who is a wonder - he's learned to chase and retrieve his tennis ball using hearing and scent alone, and I wouldn't believe it if I hadn't seen it. His owner said the main problem is getting to the park when it's quiet enough, because Scottie really doesn't like being near other animals, understandably. And he is totally blind: his eyes were removed because of some sort of infection.
We do also have a bionic pug with the rear wheel arrangement, he belongs to a pug pack and it's lovely to see how well his friends include him.
Staffy resents being made to wear a coat. How he'd react to a wheelchair harness...
I have thought about hydrotherapy. I'm not sure he'd ever speak to me again.
I like the three things idea.
#1 Snoring over crucial dialogue in crime dramas
"Boyd! I'm at the house now."
"Claire! Forensic just came back - it wasn't [snoooooooorrrrre]!!! and the gun [snoooooorrrrrre] !!! Wait 'til [snoharrumph]!!!!!
#2 Demanding treats with menaces. Unspoken menace, no teeth or anything. Just: I am going to sit immovably in front of you and stare into your eyes until you cough up. Thank you.
#3 Carrying his toy puppy around after meals, whining to it. I have consulted an animal behaviour specialist about this because I can't figure out if Staffy only loves the toy or really does think it is a puppy and gets anxious because he can't feed it. The specialist said, more or less, "search me."
I'm so sorry you're going through that. It's so hard to watch a beloved animal decline.
When BFF's aging dog's back legs started going, they found a special "wheelchair" online, designed to support the dog's legs and back end. Dog loved going for walks in that wheelchair!
(On that point - BFF recommended a chiropractor to me and I saw her today. Turns out BFF met the chiropractor because she also works on dogs! Who knew? I never would have thought to take a dog to the chiropractor! Anyway, BFF says she was skeptical about chiropractic care maybe having a "placebo effect," until she saw the change in that dog after each visit. Also, the chiropractor says of course I can bring wee Brucie next visit!)
Treat the pain.
Even though this may be his last days, his life could continue waxing and waning for some time, even a year or more. Vets say we will know when the time comes, if they do not die of natural causes, we will know when it is time to have the vet intervene. No guilt, no regrets, you will just do what needs to be done for your dog.
There are great supplements to brighten his day, ask the vet.
Bless you and your dog.
I don't know what can be done - definitely a vet question. At some point, there's probably little they can do to help improve that - just like for humans. :-(
Your post really struck my heart this morning. Sending you hugs - I wish I could do or say something more to help.
Is it a) completely idiotic First World self-indulgence or b) worth further investigation?
Dog has been a bit "off" for a few months but now it is getting... tricky. Eating non-food items - soil, toilet paper, soap. Going into his pre-supper routine twenty minutes after he's just had supper. Forgetting which door he came through and getting lost. Roaming from room to room instead of settling in his basket.
He's thirteen this year, eyesight and hearing deteriorating, back legs weakening.
:(
Henrick is beautiful,too pretty to be sick.I'm so glad he's ok~
My old boy cat,Odom chews up the toilet paper and eats it.
He's never been a "talkative" cat (except at night when he yowls as he prowls the house) - now he chatters at me like you see cats do when they see a bird outside. I chatter back. We have a regular little conversation going most days.
He used to bite out of spite - literally just walk up and bite you for no reason - and God forbid you should scold him or forget to feed him when he expects it - you'd wear his teethmarks for the rest of the day. And he didn't care *where* he bit you, either - he's been resting on the back of the recliner and bitten me right on the boob when I stood there petting him. (And while I stood there exclaiming my dismay over that act, he reached out and bit the other one for good measure.)
Now he rarely bites me at all.
He liked the laser pointer before, but the dog was obsessed with it and would chase it all over the place - so the cat would just perch somewhere and watch him. Now that the dog is gone, the cat bugs me every morning and every night to get the laser pointer out and play with him - even to the point of jumping on my desk to make me get it out if I don't do it when he wants me to. He *loves* to play with it at night especially, when he's more energetic. He races all over the house chasing it.
He's always been a loner. He'd initiate playfights with the dog - until the dog got older and just didn't want to play anymore - he'd bite the dog to get him to play with him, and the dog would just go to his bed and lay down, not wanting to be bothered. He even snapped at the cat a couple of times - just didn't feel like dealing with him.
Now the cat stays in whatever room I'm in at all times. If I'm working at my desk in the living room, he's there. If I walk into the kitchen to make food, he follows me. If I go back to my room to do laundry, he jumps on the bed to "help" by batting at the clothes with his paws as I pick them up and shake them out.
I miss my dog, but I'm sure glad I have the cat. He's become really good company in the absence of the dog. I'm sure he senses there's an emptiness in my home now, and he needed to fill it.