Life with a handicapped cat

Wow. Where does the time go? It just dawned on me that March is kitty birthday month. Scrapper is now 14, Squeeky and Callie 13 and Fluffy 1. I don't know Kitty's birthday or actual age but she's 15-16. Blackie's birthday is October and he'll be 6 which is hard to imagine.

Scrapper is doing GREAT! He's back to his old playful self, nice shiny coat and gaining weight. He still hates getting his medication but at least he's fairly easy to pill.

Fluffy is as ornary as ever and goofy as ever. LOL  I managed to get her back claws cut the other day and am in the process of TRYING to do the front. She's decided that the wooden door frames between the kitchen and hallway are her personal scratching posts. Everytime I catch her I try to divert her to the scatching board but without much success. She also tends to put her claws out and grab onto my shirt when ever she's picked up so I am full of scratches. That's the main reason I try to keep them trimmed.

The other night I was trying to brush out some mats and she got mad and bit me. Brat. I'm going to have to get the razor out and do some trimming. I've found that the mustache trimmer on a men's electric razor works well for that. It's very gentle and doesn't just shear the hair like clippers do. It also won't cut her which is important. Of course she doesn't like it but she doesn't like being brushed either.

 

laurentha at 9:56:28 AM CDT Permalink | Blog about this entry |  Add to del.icio.us |  digg this This entry has 2 comments: Show Recent | Add your own

I know I planned on doing better but time just slipped away.

Scrapper is doing great! His last thyroid test was just a little bit higher then normal range so he is still taking the 2.5 mg of Tapazole once a day and goes back in 4 months from the last test. He had put on a little bit of weight and the vet wants him to get back up to at least 9 lbs. Just looking at him you can tell that he's doing better. He's active, energetic and hungry. His coat is nice and shiny and his eyes clear and bright. I wish he would take the medication willingly but at least he's usually easy to pill.

Fluffy ---- what can I say. Her nickname is now Brat Cat. My son has had a twin sized mattress in the den because he's had overnight guests. The is standing on it's side leaning against two end tables one of which has a 10 gallon aquarium on it. Fluffy scales that mattress in no time and enjoys lounging on top of it or the end table. The first time she climbed it we found her sitting on top of the aquarium. She was also on a kick about sleeping under my other son's bed for awhile.

Diaper changes are still a struggle. Just like a kid, she doesn't want to go to bed at bedtime. She knows what's going on when she sees me getting stuff ready and she will run and try to hide from me. She's definitely something else.

laurentha at 12:27:13 AM CST Permalink | Blog about this entry |  Add to del.icio.us |  digg this This entry has 3 comments: Show Recent | Add your own

I know I should have updated this long before now but...............

Fluffy is just about full grown now and still very much the brat. She can climb on just about any piece of furniture as long as there is something for her to grab onto. I'm continually amazed by how quick she is.

 I can no longer clip her nails at all. As soon as she sees the clippers she protests and fights me so it's much easier to take her to the groomer at Petco and get them clipped for $8.00. It just ticks me off because the groomer can get all four paws done in about 2 minutes. The little darling has now decided that the wooden strip on the doorframe in the kitchen is her personal scratching post.

Scrapper went back for his thyroid recheck 3 weeks ago. Unfortunately he had lost all the weight he gained and then some bringing him down to 6.3 lbs. The Tapazole was increased to 2.5 mg once a day before the results were even back. When they did come back the level was 9 something which is extremely high. He is doing better now. He's eating, is more energetic and his coat looks better. He needs to go back for retesting within the next few days.

That's it for now. I'll try to do better with the updates.

laurentha at 2:19:10 PM CST Permalink | Blog about this entry |  Add to del.icio.us |  digg this This entry has 2 comments: Show Recent | Add your own

Fluffy's right rear leg is hyper-extended and her spine is weak on that side because of the fracture. When she scoots she rests on her left hip and pushes with that leg. She can move the right one but she doesn't bend it. A lot of times when she's on my lap I will bend the leg (when she let's me) to keep the joints from getting stiff.

I've noticed lately that a lot of times when I remove her diaper to change her she will lift her tail and urinate. She also doesn't like it when I clean her butt with a diaper wipe which tells me that she's feeling something. I have known since her first vet visit that she does have some feeling because when the vet pulled on her tail she protested.

Tonight while getting her ready for bed, with the diaper off, I was very gently massaging her right hip area, barely touching it. When I did this she protested slightly and bent her leg. This is VERY good. Hopefully the acupressure massages she's been getting are helping. There is indication that she feels it because she does protest when I try to massage the lumbar area.

laurentha at 1:30:14 AM CST Permalink | Blog about this entry |  Add to del.icio.us |  digg this This entry has 2 comments: Show Recent | Add your own

It's Christmas Eve and I'm baking cookies for the first time in years. Fluffy is busy chasing her tail, Kitty is asleep on the monitor, Callie is resting on the tower, Blackie's looking at Fluffy like she's nuts and I'm assuming that Scrapper and Squeeky are on my bed as usual. The dogs are all curled up asleep in their beds and the filters on the tanks are splashing away. I know a lot of people find that splash annoying but I find it restful. You can close your eyes, kick back and pretend you are next to a stream that is flowing over rocks.

I'm trying to get into the holiday spirit. Tomorrow I get to cook, cook, cook. yippee. I've still got to wrap the gifts I bought. My 16 yo laughed at me because I do this every year. This is the same kid who told me the other day not to get any more cats after these die because they would probably outlive me and he wasn't planning on having any cats and didn't want to get stuck taking care of them. Teens, gotta love them.

Like these Christmassy colors? LOL.

Scrapper is happier because he's down to one medication dose per day. At least for now. His lab results came back hypothyroid now so he has been reduced to 1.25 mg once a day and will be rechecked in 3 weeks. 

Fluffy is getting bratier by the day. Last night she hissed at me when I went to pick her up to get ready for bed. She was busy playing. She will also run away and try to hide from me at bedtime. Some diaperings are accompanied by hisses, growls and swipes at me arm. Rotten thang.   

The cookies are delicious!

                 Merry Christmas            Happy Hanukah

laurentha at 9:21:29 PM CST Permalink | Blog about this entry |  Add to del.icio.us |  digg this This entry has 0 comments: Add your own

Scrapper had to go for his follow up blood work today. He was NOT happy about this because the blood is drawn from a vein in the neck. Unfortunately it took two sticks which make him even unhappier. He's now mad at me and gave me a very hard time about getting his medication this evening.

On a VERY good note, he is eating and drinking as he should and it shows. In a little under three weeks his weight has gone from 6.8 lbs to 8.3 lbs! Still a way from his old weight of 14 lbs but he doesn't need to be that heavy either. His coat is also showing a lot of improvement and is back to the way it should look.

laurentha at 10:56:25 PM CST Permalink | Blog about this entry |  Add to del.icio.us |  digg this This entry has 1 comments: Show Recent | Add your own

Question: What is a toy to a kitten?

Answer: Anything they want to be.

Fluffy's favorite real toys are a set of lattice balls with a jingle bell inside. She has several of them scattered around the house. Besides being fun to bat around and chase, they can be carried and dropped into shoes. The best shoes for balls are my blue rubber clogs. I guess that's because she can manage to remove the ball and then drop it in the shoe again.

The coiled vacuum cleaner hose is tons of fun. It even plays back a little bit. Of course, it's only fun when it's sleeping and not making loud noises. Dropping the jingle balls in the middle of the coil really adds to the fun. Of course the fact that I have to continually return said vacuum to it's resting spot is irrelevant.

The latest vehicle of choice is the dust pan. After removing it from where it belongs you sit in it and slide all over the kitchen floor. Yes, the dust pan has replaced the food trays for kitchen surfing.

Now that it's gotten cold, I've been wearing my long flannel nightgown. It's a lot of fun to hide under it, bat it when it moves and even climb. The fact that my legs are under it just makes the game more fun and adds to the game of chasing my feet as I walk.

Towels and clothes being removed from the dryer and folded must be caught. Yes, there is nothing like trying to fold a towel with a cat hanging from one corner of it.

laurentha at 10:54:44 PM CST Permalink | Blog about this entry |  Add to del.icio.us |  digg this This entry has 2 comments: Show Recent | Add your own

Somehow Ms Fluffy managed to get herself tangled in a wire clothes hanger. It took about one minute for her to do this. I had changed her diaper, put her down, disposed of diaper and washed my hands, walked back in the room and found her sitting with this hanger around her. It should have been very easy to get it off of her but no, she did it right. Somehow not only was it around her middle but one side was down the diaper. In order to untangle her I had to remove the diaper and then remove the hanger. Of course I got NO cooperation.

laurentha at 10:35:03 PM CST Permalink | Blog about this entry |  Add to del.icio.us |  digg this This entry has 1 comments: Show Recent | Add your own

Talk about people dedicated to taking care of handicapped animals! This place and the people who run it are certainly amazing and dedicated. http://www.rollingdogranch.org/

laurentha at 7:02:17 AM CST Permalink | Blog about this entry |  Add to del.icio.us |  digg this This entry has 0 comments: Add your own

AOL finally decided to cooperate and let me upload a picture of Scrapper. He is doing SO much better, eating and drinking on his own. Yeah!!!

laurentha at 11:26:55 PM CST Permalink | Blog about this entry |  Add to del.icio.us |  digg this This entry has 1 comments: Show Recent | Add your own