A very sick kitty

[Stella_Omega]

I have a lethargic one myself right now. He does have conjunctivitis, which is damned painful, and I hope that's the trouble. Ozzie is my husband's "familiar", his shadow, his most beloved companion. I worry as much about the Old Man right now as I do the cat...
I'm going to the vet tomorrow and get a syringe for sub-Q's

It was difficult to convince the Old Man about this- it's an easy procedure, and it simply hasn't ever come up for us before, so he didn't know it could be done... And it will be equally difficult, of course,to convince the cat!

 

[SeaCat]

I have a lethargic one myself right now. He does have conjunctivitis, which is damned painful, and I hope that's the trouble. Ozzie is my husband's "familiar", his shadow, his most beloved companion. I worry as much about the Old Man right now as I do the cat...
I'm going to the vet tomorrow and get a syringe for sub-Q's

It was difficult to convince the Old Man about this- it's an easy procedure, and it simply hasn't ever come up for us before, so he didn't know it could be done... And it will be equally difficult, of course,to convince the cat!

If you can, get the smallest diameter needles possible. (Insulin Needles are good.) This makes the injection as painless as possible. This makes the Sub-Q injections a lot easier.

Hope things work out for you.

Cat

 

[deathlynx]

*hugs Stella and Sarah!*

Glad to hear it SeaCat!

 

[oggbashan]

Tabby is no more

Our Tabby had been an in-patient at the vets for 3 days undergoing various tests.

Yesterday the prognosis was good. Heart was in good order. Nothing major had been revealed on scans and the blood test showed low to normal oxygenation of the red blood cells. However Tabby was breathing fast and shallow.

This morning after discussion with my wife, the vet tested for hepititis and feline AIDS. The result was positive for feline AIDS. Tabby had come to us as a stray having lived as a feral cat for at least six months before deciding to adopt us four years ago. Feline AIDS is usually contracted by fighting. Tabby was a fighter, defending his territory as best he could, but sometimes unsuccessfully as one of the local unneutered males was twice Tabby's weight and it was all muscle.

The immediate problem was peritonitis but the feline AIDS meant that Tabby would never be well; would have to be kept indoors and away from any other animals and would require frequent visits to the vet.

Tabby was an outdoor cat who loved to roam. We couldn't imagine any way that we could keep him confined to the house, and we would have to get rid of our other cat. We are well aware of the difficulties of keeping a cat with feline AIDS because one of my daughters and her husband have such a cat in their thrid floor London flat. Their cat has the run of the small flat and their devotion. They have to put tablets down his throat from time to time. The only times we have tried to put tablets down Tabby's throat we were injured and he was disgusted with us for days. We had to take Tabby to the vet every day for professional tablet insertion. Sadly we took the decision that Tabby should join our other cats in feline heaven rather than prolong his life in a manner that he would hate.

I have dug Tabby's grave as deep as I can and my son-in-law will make it deeper before the ceremonial interment this afternoon.

Og

PS. It's only six weeks since we had to bury Polly, our 17 year old cat.

 

[rgraham666]

I'm so sorry for your loss, ogg.

 

[cloudy]

Oh, Og, I'm sorry.

 

[starrkers]

A sad day indeed, Ogg. RIP Tabby.

 

[Guest]

 

[rachlou]

So sorry, Og. I lost a cat several years ago to Feline AIDS. You made the right decision.

 

[Boxlicker101]

I'm very sorry to read that, Og. I won't say it's LIKE losing a member of the family, because it IS losing a member of the family.

 

[oggbashan]

A slight consolation is that Feline AIDS is the most studied pet disease. Researchers have developed a vaccine that is about 85% effective but their real aim is to combat Feline AIDS as a way towards finding a vaccine for human AIDS.

The local incidence of Feline AIDS is so low that our vet practice didn't test for it until my wife suggested AIDS as a possibility.

Og

 

[john-the-author]

A slight consolation is that Feline AIDS is the most studied pet disease. Researchers have developed a vaccine that is about 85% effective but their real aim is to combat Feline AIDS as a way towards finding a vaccine for human AIDS.

The local incidence of Feline AIDS is so low that our vet practice didn't test for it until my wife suggested AIDS as a possibility.

Og

I'm very sorry, too, Ogg.

 

[SlickTony]

Our Tabby had been an in-patient at the vets for 3 days undergoing various tests.

Yesterday the prognosis was good. Heart was in good order. Nothing major had been revealed on scans and the blood test showed low to normal oxygenation of the red blood cells. However Tabby was breathing fast and shallow.

This morning after discussion with my wife, the vet tested for hepititis and feline AIDS. The result was positive for feline AIDS. Tabby had come to us as a stray having lived as a feral cat for at least six months before deciding to adopt us four years ago. Feline AIDS is usually contracted by fighting. Tabby was a fighter, defending his territory as best he could, but sometimes unsuccessfully as one of the local unneutered males was twice Tabby's weight and it was all muscle.

The immediate problem was peritonitis but the feline AIDS meant that Tabby would never be well; would have to be kept indoors and away from any other animals and would require frequent visits to the vet.

Tabby was an outdoor cat who loved to roam. We couldn't imagine any way that we could keep him confined to the house, and we would have to get rid of our other cat. We are well aware of the difficulties of keeping a cat with feline AIDS because one of my daughters and her husband have such a cat in their thrid floor London flat. Their cat has the run of the small flat and their devotion. They have to put tablets down his throat from time to time. The only times we have tried to put tablets down Tabby's throat we were injured and he was disgusted with us for days. We had to take Tabby to the vet every day for professional tablet insertion. Sadly we took the decision that Tabby should join our other cats in feline heaven rather than prolong his life in a manner that he would hate.

I have dug Tabby's grave as deep as I can and my son-in-law will make it deeper before the ceremonial interment this afternoon.

Og

PS. It's only six weeks since we had to bury Polly, our 17 year old cat.

Og, I'm so sorry to hear about Tabby's passing.

My sister has cats with FIV. The problem with FIV cats is that all your cats have to be FIV-positive. Most of the time, they do OK, although I think one of them has seizures from time to time.

 

[fcdc]

My condolences as well, Ogg. I had a dog who died recently of Parkinson's disease (we put him down after an ensuing stroke), and so I know how much disease can cripple an animal and take away its spirit, as he was never the same. If Tabby was not going to enjoy life, it's best not to prolong sickness.

Myself and my adopted current cat (7-year-old female tabby) send out our regards.

 

[deathlynx]

Very sad to hear Ogg!

 

[SlickTony]

My condolences as well, Ogg. I had a dog who died recently of Parkinson's disease (we put him down after an ensuing stroke), and so I know how much disease can cripple an animal and take away its spirit, as he was never the same. If Tabby was not going to enjoy life, it's best not to prolong sickness.

Myself and my adopted current cat (7-year-old female tabby) send out our regards.

Dogs get Parkinson's?

 

[SeaCat]

Our Tabby had been an in-patient at the vets for 3 days undergoing various tests.

Yesterday the prognosis was good. Heart was in good order. Nothing major had been revealed on scans and the blood test showed low to normal oxygenation of the red blood cells. However Tabby was breathing fast and shallow.

This morning after discussion with my wife, the vet tested for hepititis and feline AIDS. The result was positive for feline AIDS. Tabby had come to us as a stray having lived as a feral cat for at least six months before deciding to adopt us four years ago. Feline AIDS is usually contracted by fighting. Tabby was a fighter, defending his territory as best he could, but sometimes unsuccessfully as one of the local unneutered males was twice Tabby's weight and it was all muscle.

The immediate problem was peritonitis but the feline AIDS meant that Tabby would never be well; would have to be kept indoors and away from any other animals and would require frequent visits to the vet.

Tabby was an outdoor cat who loved to roam. We couldn't imagine any way that we could keep him confined to the house, and we would have to get rid of our other cat. We are well aware of the difficulties of keeping a cat with feline AIDS because one of my daughters and her husband have such a cat in their thrid floor London flat. Their cat has the run of the small flat and their devotion. They have to put tablets down his throat from time to time. The only times we have tried to put tablets down Tabby's throat we were injured and he was disgusted with us for days. We had to take Tabby to the vet every day for professional tablet insertion. Sadly we took the decision that Tabby should join our other cats in feline heaven rather than prolong his life in a manner that he would hate.

I have dug Tabby's grave as deep as I can and my son-in-law will make it deeper before the ceremonial interment this afternoon.

Og

PS. It's only six weeks since we had to bury Polly, our 17 year old cat.

Ogg I am sorry to hear this. In the end though you did the right thing. (One of the hardest decisions to make, I know.)

Cat

 

[fcdc]

Dogs get Parkinson's?

Yup. Dogs can get a lot of diseases humans can get, and this one's neurological functions were affected the same way (shaking, tremors, confusion when he got older, etc.); he was on Selegiline, etc. He lived for a couple of years on medication without pain, but after the stroke, we knew he wasn't there anymore in spirit, if you will, so it was time for him to go.

Tough, too. I'd had him since age 11, and we put him down just before I turned 25, a little over a year ago.

 

[sutherngent985]

I'm so sorry for your loss Ogg. Heres a little something for Tabby