Geriatric Kitty Advice Needed for Grasshopper

[CatDad]

Thanks for the informaiton on the PepcidAC. I had had not heard about the study on bloof flow and pepcid. That is good information to know.

Slick I am not sure if ther are different strength pepcids, but I believe you want the 10 mg Pepcid AC. T&P is correctly they are rather hard to cut up.

This is what I use on Joey to help her stomach calm down when she has been sick. However, I haven't had to do that for a while.

[Cataholic]

Ko,
Sorry to hear things are rough right now. I, too, would think about another panel..it sounds to me like hyperthyroid. Tex is HT, and I am blessed cause pilling him is easy as 1,2,3. He still struggles with the weight, and is on a second med for kidney failure. He is 'only' 12 (nearly 13). I wish you luck with Grasshopper. Us tuxies have to stick together, you know.

[kohala]

Grasshopper is a pain to pill, and frankly I'm a wuss when it comes to pilling her because she hates it so much - MReeeW hssss!! But, I have been told to put her on it before, and when I spoke to my new vet, she wanted me to use tagamet. When I mentioned the Pepcid (since I still have a lot of it), she said go for it. SO, sorry Grasshopper, but pills are going in, one way or the other! Actually, the first time I tried it (2 days ago) she 'slimed' it (and me - yuck!) and out it came. So, sadly I had to be forceful, and I am so glad I was. You're right about the size, T&P, I also use a pill cutter and quarter them.
I din't know about the blood flow thing, so thanks for that info! I won't say it's working just yet, but will post again, as she has started to perk up, even tho she still drops those little stools around. Not many, one a day, maybe.
I brought home Beechnut baby food, chicken, turkey and a couple of veggies to thin the protein out. Tonite she ate 2 tsp of chik & sweet potato, out of her dish which I set on the bed next to her. I think I'll still give her swome later by finger, she seems to like the attention.
T&P, she had been vomiting a LOT a few weeks ago, mostly liquid. She literally covered the entire bathroom floor one time when I heard the warning sunds and carried her in there just in time. Not a big bathroom, but you get the picture (sorry). I was in the middle of serious Dad care so just cut her food back and kept an eye on her. I thought she was stressing. The vomiting has stopped for some time now, and thankfully she has not vomited the bloody stuff the vet told me to watch for.
But we're still not out of the woods as she is very skinny thru the hips and still has those tarry poops with traces of blood in them. Not as much as before, tho - so - ?
Thanks, I think your prayers and good wishes are working!

Yep, I am a tuxie fan, and when she leaves me someday, I'll probably look for a couple of tuxies who want to adopt me!

Herself is lying on the bed behind me, checking out the keyboard action - so she must be saying "Hi" and "Thank you "

Love to all, Ko

[Karen]

So glad to hear she ( and Dadcat) are feeling somewhat better. I have no personal experience with elderly kitties, just with elderly humans. If you ever need that kind advice, I'll share. I know older kitties seem to get skinnier, and can still hang on and enjoy life for quite a while. My boss' cat is 17 and they have noticed he's lost weight as well. They've never had a cat before, so they are new to this as well.

Oh, give Kohala skritches for me, okay? (And if Dadcat's jealous, give him a hug from me, too - that way you get one yourself, too!) Tell kohala that when I was grwoing up, my whole neighborhood was populated by Tux kitties, most often polydactyl tuxies to boot! So to me, a tux is what kitties were "supposed" to look like, and when the girls across the street "imported" a little calico kitty, it took me a while to appreciate that she was just as normal a cat as the others!

[zippy-kat]

Ko -
I don't have any advice but want you to know that my love and prayers are on the way!

A fellow Grasshopper fan,
Zip

[AvaJoy]

I am presently dealing with my elderly (approx. 20 - not sure of her age) Lily's renal problems. She still eats, but has been losing weight and feels like nothing more substantial than fur and bones when I pick her up.

She will be on Sub-Q fluids (which my husband and I administer at home) twice a week for the remainder of her life.

Her condition was discovered when I took her for her check-up and my vet ran a geriatric profile (to the tune of $90.00). I was relieved that she was not also diabetic, as her water intake had increased and I thought for sure she would be diagnosed with diabetes. Renal failure is much more serious, I know, but at least it was not compounded by Diabetes.

I had a re-check appt. for her last week but it was cancelled so I must re-schedule. More blood will be drawn to see if the levels have changed since she has been on the IV fluids, and possibly I will have to increase the frequency of giving her the Sodium Chloride.

I wish you and yours an easier time of it than you have been recently experiencing. I know firsthand the emotional rollercoaster you are on. Sending prayers & [[HUGS]]

[CatDad]

On the subject of pilling. I have a kitty that I really can not even pick up and pilling her is very easy.

I use a soft hairball treat and I cut it in half and I can reform the treat around the pill. I just put it down in fornt of her and it is gone.

Just a suggestion. If it works will make you life so much easier.

If you have any questions let me know.

AvaJoy I am so sorry to hear about your kitty, that is tough. However the quality of life can still be good for a long time. Mine was on subqs every 3 days for about 8 or 10 months. However, I can't do needles and we took a trips to the vet. It actually worked quite well.

[kohala]

You guys are fabulous!!! My vet mentioned hydrating her and sending us with the home injection kit (Sub Q's, I take it!) As Dadcat is very familiar with vetting his animals (he vetted his horses, dogs, cats, etc. years ago when he was "horse trading" as he calls it! ) he was all for taking on the task. Now that she seems to be less likely to go over any day, I will discuss it with him. Definitely a visit to my wonderful Dr. Todd is on the agenda.
Thanks for the love, too, old friends and new!
Oh, yes - I will try the hairball goo trick - I think that might make it easier to get it into her, but no bets on her gobbling up - spoiled kitty!

Ko & Grasshopper

[AvaJoy]

Originally posted by CatDad
On the subject of pilling . . . I use a soft hairball treat and I cut it in half and I can reform the treat around the pill. I just put it down in fornt of her and it is gone.

AvaJoy I am so sorry to hear about your kitty, that is tough. However the quality of life can still be good for a long time. Mine was on subqs every 3 days for about 8 or 10 months. However, I can't do needles and we took a trips to the vet. It actually worked quite well.

I use the same exact method for pilling Meeshe, who gets a dewormer pill every 3 months because he is my only cat that has access to the outdoors and consequently brings us "presents" now and then.

Thanks for the encouraging words about Lily. I hope the subqs will prolong her life, as was your experience. She has only been on this treatment for about a month, and hopefully she will be with us for many more months.

[krazyaboutkatz]

Kohala, I don't have any experience with geriatric cats yet because my oldest is only 8 years old. It sounds likes you've been receiving some very good advice and I'm glad to hear that Grasshopper is doing better. Hopefully she'll be able to live into her 20's and have a happy painfree life. Prayers and positive thoughts are being sent your way. Please take care.

[davidpizzica]

Originally posted by kohala
....and caring! I talked to the vet again today, and she recommended no vet visit unless she is vomiting blood. (She isn't!) I am so grateful tohave a vet that doesn't try to bring her in ($$$$) but instead considers the "need" rather than the "want". I didn't mention that she had a full blood panel just 3 months ago and there were signs of kidey deterioration, but other than that she was given an excellent bill of health.
I appreciate the experiences you all shared with me, as I am new to the "elderly cat" reality. I have a much better understanding now, and interestingly enough, I think Grasshopper does, too! I have been feeding her by letting her lick baby food off my fingers for the past week, once she started to eat again. Tonight was the first time she bathed after dinner! I felt that was a very good sign.
So we accept our age and our limitations, all of us, and our spirits are all starting to pick up. Tonight as I fix Dadcat dinner Grasshopper has been following me from here in the bedroom into the kitchen where I check the dinner, and back, every time I go! Alright!!!!

Thanks so much, I will get used to my skinny old but basically OK cat and enjoy her immensely until its time to say goodbye!
Blessings to all - Ko & Grasshopper

Enjoy Grasshopper as long as you are able Thai my blue point siamese lived to the ripe old age of 22! She slowed down alot in her last year, havin gone through epileptic seizures and weakness in her back legs, but up until then she did pretty good. So I think grasshopper will do alright. p.s. is grasshopper a tuxedo cat? My Nikki is.

[davidpizzica]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by david p
[B]Enjoy Grasshopper as long as you are able Thai my blue point siamese lived to the ripe old age of 22! She slowed down alot in her last year, havin gone through epileptic seizures and weakness in her back legs, but up until then she did pretty good. So I think grasshopper will do alright. p.s. Grasshopper and my Nikki could be twins!

[kohala]

She's a Tuxie all the way! Thanks for the kind thoughts. Sorry I haven't updated here - I haven't been around much lately. She'd doing much better - silly me forgetting about the 9 lives thing!!! She's more frail, and occasioinally throws up a lot of water, usually motivated by a hairball! But she is eating, though it's been really hot here lately, so no one has been eating much!!! I think she'll be around for awhile, but I am watching the weak backend - could be the kidney thing, could be arthritis. My husband thinks it's her back that hurts her -?
But she's a lot more talkative and I'm not having to hand feed her, so all in all things look much better!!

Thanks again to all of you. I hope to start having time to get back into my regular posting - I used be quite the chatterbox online. I miss it!!!!

Grettings to all the furkids, and an extra sckritch or two to the Tuxiekids out there - You know who you (all) are!!

[jenluckenbach]

Biddy White Whiskers is accepting some of those scritchies as we speak!

It is good to hear an update about Grasshopper.

[Tubby & Peanut's Mom]

Kohala, this might be of interest to you in regards to Grasshopper's "stiffness."

Last weekend I took Tubby to the vet for his 6 month checkup. I mentioned that he, too, is experiencing "stiffness" and sometimes isn't too sure on his feet. I asked the vet how they check for arthritis and even if they knew he had it, what could they do for it. She felt along his spine a little - never indicated whether she thought he had it or not - and then prescribed Cosequin for Cats. It's a powder supplement - not a drug - that is supposed to help with their joints. It comes in capsule form and you can either sprinkle it on their food or do the old "open up and shove it in" method. I've been sprinkling it on his canned food treat in the mornings, and it must taste good because Peanut has been finishing off Tubby's plate after he's done - which she has never done before, and she has traditionally not liked the food I give him. So if picky Peanut eats it, it must be good.

It is a "supplement" though, and not a drug, so the directions say it might be up to 60 days before you notice any difference, so needless to say I haven't noticed any difference in Tubby yet. However, even though it's only a supplement, you can only get it from your vet. It cost me $20.75 for 180 pills, so it's not overly expensive. You mentioned that you had a great vet that doesn't necessarily require vet visits, so maybe ask him/her about this Cosequin for Cats and see what she says. Like I say, it's too early yet for me to give it a full endorsement, but you can ask him/her about it and see what she/he says.

Good luck and give that sweetie pie some skritchies for me.