[kitty]

[wispfox]

Oh, goodie. My kitty has heart disease, apparently bad enough that he gets to be medicated daily, plus a baby aspirin every three days (yay for blood thinners!). He is probably able to safely get anesthesia now (although not as safely as if his heart were fine!), but as this is likely to continue to get worse, anything he needs done needs to be done sooner rather than later.

I get to go back in two weeks-ish to verify that the pills are doing what they are supposed to be doing.

*sigh*

I really would like a different day.

Need to remember to purchase baby aspirin tomorrow.

I really hope that I can convince/teach (it's not terribly difficult, as I learned tonight) potential cat sitters to pill my cat every day, or I'm not going to be traveling.

Comments

[yendi]

*hugs*

(To you and to kitty)

I'm sorry, hon.

[wispfox.livejournal.com]

Thanks. He's actually seeming fine, other than irritation at being left at the vet for a day.

[ladytabitha.livejournal.com]

I, for one, was renowned at this shelter I used to volunteer for for my cat-pilling skills.  So, ze la.

[ladytabitha.livejournal.com]

Plus, Ash is less likely to, say, clamp down on my hand and rabbit-kick my wrist, thus leaving scars for months later.  And I took that with no more than an "Ow".

*self-congratulates*

[wispfox.livejournal.com]

*grins* Indeed, Ash is mostly just of the 'let me go and stop sticking your fingers in my mouth!' opinion, and wants to escape, not fight.

[wispfox.livejournal.com]

Noted. :)

[kyrene.livejournal.com]

Eep! *HUGS*

[wispfox.livejournal.com]

Thanks. I don't have any idea what sort of effect this will have on his life expectancy, esp since I _am_ medicating him, but... yeah.

[echospiralheart.livejournal.com]

Or you can give him a pill in treat. :) We did that for my sister's cat.

[wispfox.livejournal.com]

Could, but I suspect pilling him is probably easier. I give it to him _before_ his evening wet food, so... *shrug* It's just harder to tell if he ate it if it's in his food, I think.

[randysmith]

Oh, sigh. I'm really sorry.

[wispfox.livejournal.com]

Yeah. He's acting perfectly fine; I'm just not sure how much this'll affect his life expectancy, you know?

[leiacat.livejournal.com]

I'm sorry.

*offeredhugs*

[wispfox.livejournal.com]

Thanks, hugs appreciated. :)

[beowabbit]

I’m really sorry to hear that!

(I’m also eminently teachable, although given my schedule I’m not sure how much use I am as a potential catsitter.)

[wispfox.livejournal.com]

(I’m also eminently teachable, although given my schedule I’m not sure how much use I am as a potential catsitter.)

Noted, on both points. :)

[ian-gunn.livejournal.com]

Poor kitty! I know petting a cat lowers a person's blood pressure. I bet it works the other way to. Petting Ash should now be considered therapeutic for him. I know you will give him lots of therapy. :)

[wispfox.livejournal.com]

*laugh* Lots of therapy for my kitty. ;)

[angelovernh.livejournal.com]

I'm so sorry to hear your kitty has heart disease!! Hugs!

[wispfox.livejournal.com]

Yeah. Is not fun, although for the moment doesn't actually have any particular affect on anything other than the pilling of him every day.

[intenselaura.livejournal.com]

Poor kitty! And poor you!

[wispfox.livejournal.com]

Yeah. Thanks. :)

[jasra]

It doesn't help for the now, but I'm good at pilling cats and would be happy to help out as needed. Poor kitty. :(

[wispfox.livejournal.com]

Noted! I'd prefer to have more than one person to ask, especially since I am planning to go away for a month next year. And by the time I'm likely to be traveling next, I think you're likely to be in this area.

[jasra]

Very likely! Or I'll own part of JetBlue and can fly out to pill the kitty.;)

[wispfox.livejournal.com]

*blink* *amused* Because you use JetBlue often enough to start owning it? :)

[jasra]

Zactly! But I'd rather save my money and fly less and be in MA than continue to be solely responsible for the airline revival. :D

[wispfox.livejournal.com]

*laugh* Yes. Good plan. ;)

[kar0na.livejournal.com]

Awww, sweetie, I'm so sorry to hear that. It's so tough when a pet gets sick. It's just not fair, they are so innocent and sweet. I wish you the best. ((((hug))))

[wispfox.livejournal.com]

It's just not fair, they are so innocent and sweet.

Indeed, although I note that as far as I can tell, this isn't having any immediate effect on his behavior or anything. Just the added pill stuff, and me having some amount of concern about how this will affect his life expectancy.

[bridgetester.livejournal.com]

*pets Ash, consoles you*

[wispfox.livejournal.com]

*smile* Thanks.

[ms-violet.livejournal.com]

I'm really sorry to hear that. I know you'll be able to rise to the occasion. and sometimes, cats know "this is good for me" and are less resistant to agreeing to take medication or uncomfortable therapy.
I agree wholeheartedly with the earlier petting comment.

[wispfox.livejournal.com]

sometimes, cats know "this is good for me" and are less resistant to agreeing to take medication or uncomfortable therapy.

Well, on the plus side, my cat is one who tends to be very, very patient with what he thinks of as humans being strange again. So I'm not concerned about him fighting being pilled or anything.

I agree wholeheartedly with the earlier petting comment.

*smile* Indeed. He's good about requesting petting, too. :)

[okoshun.livejournal.com]

I know the feeling. One of our kitties had hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (enlarged heart) and was on 2 meds twice (cardizem and...umm...damn - I never thought I'd forget what we gave him daily) a day plus 1/2 an aspirin daily. We had to watch for signs of kidney failure (one of the meds could build up in the kidney) over time (years). He lived a long life for a kitty with a heart problem. The pilling was difficult - we got very good at it over time. However, travel became inpossible when our friends had to tell us that they love us but that they can't pill our "furry devil incarnate" anymore. We didn't travel for a few years.

Luckily the only thing we have to deal with now is diabetes which requires 2 shots a day and we have at least 4 friends who are okay with giving injections. :)

[wispfox.livejournal.com]

The pilling was difficult - we got very good at it over time.

On the plus side, my cat is _not_ difficult for pilling; he's just very confused as to what the hell I'm doing, since it's also a learning experience for me right now. I'm sure that as I get better at it, it'll be quicker and therefore less annoying for him. He mostly has a reaction of 'what the _hell_ are you doing putting your fingers in my mouth?!" and acts like they taste nasty.

travel became inpossible when our friends had to tell us that they love us but that they can't pill our "furry devil incarnate" anymore.

*chuckle* I suspect that as long as I have people who are willing to learn (or already know), that won't be a problem. My cat is _not_ a devil of any sort, and is very good at tolerating strange behaviors in the humans around him.

[ruth-lawrence.livejournal.com]

Ow, ow.

That;'s saddening to hear :-(

[saluqi.livejournal.com]

Sorry to hear about your kitty's heart problems. With a pill gun pilling many cats is pretty easy. Hope you find people to kitty sit!

[wispfox.livejournal.com]

With a pill gun pilling many cats is pretty easy.

Yeah, I think that's probably the label for the thing my vet gave me when I said I'd never pilled cats, and it was certainly pretty easy. I'm just not very good at it yet, so it took a few tries last night. On the plus side, he doesn't fight; he just wants me to let him _go_.

Hope you find people to kitty sit!

Looking at my comments above, it looks probable. And I've not yet seen my roommate since I learned about the pilling need, so it's entirely possible that I can teach her. She's generally my default cat sitter, so that'd be easiest if she can do it.

[saluqi.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I think that's probably the label for the thing my vet gave me when I said I'd never pilled cats, and it was certainly pretty easy. I'm just not very good at it yet, so it took a few tries last night. On the plus side, he doesn't fight; he just wants me to let him _go_

I find it's easiest when they are sleepy or sleeping somewhere. Pop it in and it's done before they even realise and you don't have to pick them up :)

[wispfox.livejournal.com]

Huh! Interesting, I shall note it. I'm mostly trying to schedule it such that it's right before his wet food (he only gets it once a day, and usually has dry food) so it's easy to find him, and he has something yummy right after.

I'm also not entirely sure I would know if he doesn't actually swallow it. Are cats (to your knowledge) prone to not actually swallowing the pills that are put in their mouths?

[saluqi.livejournal.com]

Ah, yes, I do make sure she swallows it, if she didn't wake I would not put it in her mouth.

And yes, they do spit them back up sometimes, so I watch for the reflexes in her throat and make sure it actually has gone down. Still occasionally I find one when I'm vacuuming :)

[wispfox.livejournal.com]

if she didn't wake I would not put it in her mouth

Well, yes; I figured that. :)

And yes, they do spit them back up sometimes, so I watch for the reflexes in her throat and make sure it actually has gone down.

Hmm. I'm having trouble watching for swallowing motions, but I do make sure that I can't see it anymore. I think I'm going to give up on the pill gun soon, because it gives me less control. We'll see. :)

[fourgates.livejournal.com]

Awww. I'd volunteer to furball wrestle cat sit if you lived closer.

[wispfox.livejournal.com]

*laugh* furball wrestling!

Interestingly, he's not one who tends to wrestle much. Even when I was pilling him for the first time last night, he mostly wanted me to let him go and stop sticking my fingers in his mouth. :)

[elissaann.livejournal.com]

I'm sorry to hear about the diagnosis.

IME, the ease of pilling depends on the cat. I got many scratches when my late Malka was in her final years. I've never had to pill Regina, but she will sit still for almost anything.

We have catsitters in NYC who, for a price, will do medications. You probably have that option, too, if it's necessary.

[wispfox.livejournal.com]

IME, the ease of pilling depends on the cat. I got many scratches when my late Malka was in her final years. I've never had to pill Regina, but she will sit still for almost anything.

Indeed. Ash is not difficult, really. He mostly just wants me to let him _go_ and stop sticking my fingers in his mouth.

He doesn't bite. He was already declawed when I got him (sadly - that's _not_ nice to do!), and I doubt he would have used them on humans even if he had them. He doesn't use his back claws unless he's actively scared rather than just annoyed.

We have catsitters in NYC who, for a price, will do medications. You probably have that option, too, if it's necessary.

Noted! Not sure how I'd find cat sitters if I didn't already have them as friends (that said, I have a friend who _is_ a cat sitter, so she might have suggestions if it comes to that).

[sunspiral.livejournal.com]

::hugs to you & kitty::
Fortunately he's a pretty mellow cat.

[wispfox.livejournal.com]

Fortunately he's a pretty mellow cat.

Indeed. Mellow and very tolerant of the strange things humans do. :)

(It's distinctly odd to me that you've been to my place but not while I was there, because I keep forgetting that you have!)