Question about my geriatric cat

[furrykidsmother]

Poor baby! I am sorry to hear of his troubles. Good luck with the fluids. If someone can help you keep him still that would probably make it easier for you. I wish you many more happy years together. Enjoy every minute that you have. He is a beautiful boy. Keep us posted.

[rebeccarichardson]

Your thread caught my attention as well, as a guardian of a senior siamese [15 yrs old] who suddenly began losing weight over a year ago and became very thin, she was diagnosed as having cancer. Fortunately with chemo she is now in remission and has regained her weight.

I wish the best for your kitty.

Pearl's mom

[dragonchilde]

Something similar happened with my 16 year old last year, but in his case, it was just worms and not eating well. His teeth are mostly gone, so he can't eat as much hard food as he wants, so we started spoiling him with gooshy food every night. He's healthy as a horse, so far, even if he can't hear so well anymore.

Yay for geriatric kitties!

[cyber-sibes]

Thanks everyone! He has been doing great this past few days,and I spent time reading cat food labels at the pet store. Science Diet Senior seems to have the lowest protein content, and he likes it.
Pearl's Mom - Chow Chow is 1/2 Siamese - we also owned his brother for a number of years, but he was black & white, and had the long thin body of the Siamese. People usually ask if he's part Himalayan.

[rebeccarichardson]

Yes, Siamese tend to be long and slender to begin with, and so when they lose weight, it is alarming.
Our Siamese "Pearl" was always a finicky eater and on the slim side. When she became anorexic from Cancer, we tried all kinds of cat food to find one she would eat. We literally went thru 50 different kinds of can cat food to get her to eat. The high liquid content in can cat food is good for her kidneys--and we have to watch out for high protein content too as our cat has problems w/urinary tract infections due to the chemo and old age..

I hope your cat makes a full recovery........

Pearl's Mom

[cyber-sibes]

Just a brief upsate on Chow Chow-- I gave him fluids subcutaneously for the first time today- I thought I was going to pass out - I really hated putting a needle in him. He was a little calmer than he was at the vets, but much more talkative - making all those unhappy cat sounds, poor guy. He ate well for a few days, now he's eating lightly again. She suggested giving him some pumpkin to soften his stools, I'll try that tomorrow. He'll be getting a liquid potassium soon, too. thanks for the head's up on that one, Tubby & Peanuts Mom!

[krazyaboutkatz]

I just wanted to send some prayers and positive thoughts your way. Chow Chow sure is very handsome and I hope he'll continue to do well and live many more years with you.

[Tubby & Peanut's Mom]

Glad to hear you made it through the first sub-q fluid. It only gets easier from here on in. And glad to hear they agreed with the potassium. I really think this will make him feel so much better. It was like night and day with Tubby once he started on the potassium.

Sorry to hear he has slacked off on eating again. Hopefully that will pick up when the potassium starts kicking in. As for the stool softener, my vet suggested using Colace (sp?). It's for people and can be found in any drug store. One pill every two or three days and it worked wonders for Tubby.

Good luck on continuing with the sub-q fluids, and hopefully he will start eating and show a little improvement soon.

Oh, and did I mention to start cherishing every moment with him?

[cyber-sibes]

I'm getting really frustrated. ChowChow is not tolerating the sub-q fluid sessions well. Either I don't get the needle in well enough, (ended up sticking him 5 times yesterday) or the fluid isn't dripping, and all the while he's struggling with all he has to get away. My hubby's been helping me, but he's of the mind now that ChowChow doesn't want this, and maybe its time to just let him go. (We were trying again just a few minutes ago, but Chowdie got my hubs good with his hind claws...end of session.)
I just don't want to agree with him. I don't get the feeling from Chow Chow that he wants to die. But he's not tolerating these treatments, either.
I know there isn't a pat answer to all this, but thanks for listening.

[rebeccarichardson]

Dear Cyber sibes......'poor Chow Chow.
I'm no help to you having never had to given injections to our cats...but I just wanted to tell you that I feel your pain and frustration. When we have to pill Pearl or giving her liquid antibiotics we dread it, even tho' all usually goes well and she tolerates it pretty well--we use a blanket and cradle her in our arms so that she can't scratch ...
hang in there and please don't give up....
My thoughts and prayers are with you all....



Pearl's Mom.

[krazyaboutkatz]

Have you tried wrapping him up in a towel or blanket? I had to do this with my Pepper because he would run off if I didn't. I'd also squeeze the sub-q bag so that the fluids would go in faster and the session would be over with quicker. Please don't give up. Good luck and please keep us updated.

[cyber-sibes]

I haven't posted for a while, so here's an update and another question--
Update - A friend who is a nurse has been stopping over every few days to help me "water the cat". we've been wrapping his hindquarters & back feet really well and that seems to help hold him still. He's been objecting, but not so much as before - when we gave him fluids yesterday, he just laid his head against me and waited it out with a minimum of fuss, lots of growly-yowls. So that's going better.
He's also eating better, new food -Science Diet Senior- plus heating it a bit, adding more liquids & his plumbing's working better, too.
-BUT- the new thing is that he's pulling his fur out I'm finding little tufts all over the place and I'm starting to see skin over his hip-- what's the deal with that? I'm baffled. He seems to be feeling better, but.......? Any ideas?