Cleo's turn for dentistry and blood tests

[TopCat3]

TopCat1 (Cleo) is going for her dental cleaning on Tuesday. She will also have her blood and urine tests. She is 16 1/2 so I am anxious to see how she goes this time. She was at the high end of normal last time. She does drink quite a lot. But not hugely, and this is a thirsty country! (You can see, I am doing a lot of reasoning and explaining to myself) and she gets quite hungry too. We've been together a long time, she was my first-ever cat, and we have been all over the place and done lots of things together. We are also ageing gracefully together, I see the changes in myself reflected in her, I was in my mid-thirties when she first came to live with me, all that energy and enthusiasm one has then...and I had only been living in Australia a little over a year, so really she has been my companion all through some special times. I just can't imagine looking across to the couch or their side of the bed and not seeing those pinky-brown pointy ears. I'm a mess while they're under anaesthetic, and when I have to call up to see how they are I get butterflies. Is it just me or are we all like this?:( From reading these threads over the past few months I think we are all like this! ;) Oh well, feel better for sharing, thanks folks.:)

[jenluckenbach]

Best of luck with Cleo. What can I say? We worry about our babies.

[furrykidsmother]

I hope that Cleo does well with her cleanings and tests and hope that you have many more memories to share together. I think we all feel like that. There are our "kids" and we worry. It can't be helped.

[TopCat3]

Thank you Jenluckenbach and Furrykidsmother for your well-wishes.

Cleo went very well, all things considered. No tooth extractions. Blood tests OK but her blood pressure was very high (180, with 120-140 being normal) prior to surgery so she was given some medication to bring it down prior to anaesthesia and she was on fluids the whole time and for a few hours after. She recovered very well and is sleeping now.

I have to take her back in a week's time for another B.P. measurement, with me there holding her, to see how much was just stress and how high it really is under "normal" circumstances. Meanwhile I'm having a thyroid function test done too just to be sure and complete the full blood profile. Her pupils do not contract much and in the last few weeks her eyes have seemed blurred, we are concerned if there is a BP problem there could be some detachment of the retinas beginning. Vet says cats disguise vision impairment very well, especially if they are indoors and used to their environment. She can still follow dangly toys with her eyes, but not so fast these days, probably more just the movement than the actual object, it's hard to tell.

Other than that, vet says she is looking very good and all the signs are good.

Thanks for your support.

[furrykidsmother]

Sorry to hear the Cleo's BP was high. Hopefully it was just the stress of being at the Vets and nothing serious. Please let us know the outcome of the additional tests and follow up BP check. Best wish, good thoughts and prayers to Cleo and hugs to you!

[TopCat3]

Will do. Thank you for caring.:)

[Barbara]

Regarding her age Cleo did terrific I think:)
I have known a cat (Penelope) who became blind in her high age. She coped purrfectly well with it and still managed to boss around her much younger adoptive brother Hermes. So even if Cleo gets problems with her eyesight it won't keep her from going strong:)

[TopCat3]

Thank you, Barbara, for your encouraging words. Cleo rested well last night and ate her breakfast, took her antibiotics just fine. She's her usual self, content and alert. I shall have her eyes looked at again when we do the follow up BP test next week. Possibly see a vet opthamologist if vet and I are still not sure what is going on. She is good for her age, I know, and being a Siamese girl, they are renowned for their longevity:)

[jenluckenbach]

I amk glad Cleo did well. I hopr the high BP was a bit of stress and nothing to be concerned about.

As for eyesight......my (RB) Bear lost his sight in his last years and did perfectly fine. I knew he was losing his sight, but one day I saw him starting to walk into things. But he learned fairly quickly. He began to walk slower allowing his whiskers to guide him. Soon he was able to use the stairs and he never missed the litter box. Cleo will adapt.

[TopCat3]

Thank you Jen, for your comforting message. At present Cleo seems to still look around and has no trouble negotiating anything, so it's very early stages, if it is indeed happening, and in that way she will adapt. I guess it would be much harder, like it would for people, if it was sudden complete loss of sight. Anyway I'll let you know what happens next Friday (9th).

By the way folks, thyroid test was in the high end of normal range, 46, the range being 40-48. So that was good. The vet and all the nurses say she is doing really, really well. Oh- and here she comes now to see what I'm up to!

Thanks, all.:)

[Tubby & Peanut's Mom]

I'm so glad she got a relatively good report. I'm always happy when the oldsters get good reports. :)

I think it's maybe a year or so ago now, when the vet told me he noticed Peanut's eyes....reflecting more. Meaning that even in regular daylight she sometimes gets that "headlight" look to her eyes that you see in pictures sometimes. He said this is perfectly normal in older cats and it's similar to needing bifocals in people. He said she can still see her mousie across the floor, but she might not be able to see a treat in front of her nose. Not a problem since her nose is still working perfectly. ;) I have noticed no difference in how she acts, including while we're in the motorhome which is an environment she's not as familiar with as at home.

As for the high blood pressure, I had heard that cats who are in renal failure tend to have higher blood pressure, so make sure you're vet tests for renal function in the blood tests.

I also know exactly how you feel about dreading the day when you won't be seeing those pinky-brown ears anymore. I was the same way with Tubby - he had been through so much with me - and even though I knew his time was drawing near, I was completely devasted when he was gone. You can prepare yourself all you can, but it will still cut your heart in two when her time finally comes. So, in the meantime, while she's still getting great reports like this, spoil her as much as you possibly can. After all, she deserves nothing less. ;) :)

[TopCat3]

Dear Tubby and Peanut's Mom
Thank you for your lovely, understanding message. What you said about Peanut's eyes is exactly what seems to be happening with Cleo. Little or no pupil contraction and "headlights" even in reasonable light, and better distance than near vision. I feel better after reading your post, perhaps it is not blood-pressure related retinal detachment after all.

Yes, Cleo had full blood profile and renal was OK - high end of normal range same as last time tested. However...:(

Vet (Dr Catt, would you believe...) rang today to discuss the Thyroid test results. The vet nurse had said 46 and 10-48 was normal range, so she was high end of normal. Vet said she was concerned there was mild hyperthyroidism and that most cats she sees are in the 10-25 range and Cleo should be started on medication. She said hyperthyroidism can mask what is really going on with the kidneys, so after a few weeks on the tabs she will go back for another blood pressure test and repeat blood and urine tests for renal function.

So I will pick up the meds on Saturday and start them immediately and see vet again 7th October to see how she is going.

Meanwhile I am going to Google search feline hyperthyroidism and learn all I can.

Any info or references anyone has will be greatly appreciated, thank you. Thinking positive here...:) :) :)

[furrykidsmother]

I don't know much about this condition, but wish you and Cleo well, good thoughts and prayers and good luck on your search. I am sure there are others here that can provide you with a wealth of knowledge. Hope the medication helps.

[TopCat3]

Thank you for that. I found a lot via Google- a site by Pawprints and Purrs Inc Cat Health Care :
www.sniksnak.com/cathealth/hyperthyroidism2.html
and a site by The Winn Feline Foundation
www.winnfelinehealth.org/health/hyperthyroidism.html
this also has links to other pages on the same site for geriatric cats (don't like that term!).
I learned a lot and anyone facing this issue will do so too and I hope these links help them.