Terry update!
(For those of you who don’t know who Terry is, he was one of the True Blood 6. He was adopted as a kitten, and returned last fall. Reader Christine, who lives in Georgia, couldn’t get him out of her head, and ultimately adopted him!)
Christine says:
I thought I’d give you an update on how Terry is integrating into our household. It’s actually going great! The dogs have gotten used to him – and he never had an issue with them, really. Zira and Terry have little runs down the hall together that really do seem to be just fun for them because Zira is obviously not trying to catch him and Terry just loves to run. He continues to be a bit partial to my husband but that is okay since he was the one who needed a little winning over!
Terry continues to be so laid back and so sweet that everyone who has met him just loves him! I had some family drop by for a few minutes to meet him and he just sauntered down the hallway, looked at the 5 new people in the house, said “meow!”, and waited for them all to pet him. He really is just something!
I’ve attached a couple of pics.
That is my husband, Terry, and Zeke, having some guy time together.
The pic of Terry is kind of blurry but I was trying to get a shot with his eyes open and apparently if his eyes are open, so is his mouth!
The last pic is Terry in my bed with Zira. He is obviously very stressed about sharing a bed with a large dog!
So, the gist is: all is great!
Thank you so much for the update, Christine! I love that he is just as laid-back (and talkative!) as he was as a kitten.
I told Christine that “If his eyes are open, so is his mouth!” should be Terry’s tagline. That is the perfect description of him!
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Stripey sistahs.
Lizzy gets her bunny-kick on.
Lita seems to have declared herself the Supervisor of the Toys. She probably carries a little clipboard around and makes the other kittens sign out the toys they want to play with.
That squirrel toy Stevie is playing with is one of their favorites. Probably because it chirps when they toss it around.
Three of the five, wondering just what I think I’m doing.
Lizzy the lovemuffin. You can be confident that she was purring up a storm as I took this picture.
I have no idea what I was doing here, but I think Lita was probably overreacting. Just lay there and let me squeeze your head, Lita!
“Um, nothin’. Just laying here, eating some cardboard. It’s tasty!”
“What you MEAN you don’t wanna see cardboard in the litter box?! Why would it be in the litter box? It’s gonna be in my TUMMY. Duh.”
Stevie and that silly, smug little face. She cracks me UP.
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Maxi in the sun, on a very cold day. Don’t feel too sorry for her – we let her in, she hangs out inside for a while, and then she senses that there are kittens somewhere in the house. Which WILL NOT DO, so she demands to go back outside. Such a brat, that one.
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Previously
2015: Lita seems to have declared herself the Supervisor of the Toys.
2014: If we’ve ever been FB friends and currently are not and YOU didn’t unfriend ME, let me know!
2013: Baby Beans haz a confusion.
2012: No entry.
2011: Peter cheers Marcia on in her Race! Around! The Room!
2010: Keebler’s so busy keeping an eye on The Crazy that he doesn’t even notice Elwood reaching down for a tap.
2009: These days, instead of immediately smacking any kitten who comes too close to her, Miz Poo will sniff them, regard them and THEN smack them.
2008: No entry.
2007: No entry.
2006: No entry.
2005: No entry.
Robyn, have you ever considered having the foster room on Livestream like Shelly Roche from TinyKittens?
Great update on Terry!
I have, but fear that I’d forget to turn the camera off when I go into the room, and have no desire to be on-camera. I did figure that next time I get itty bitties, I might give it a try, though!
I need some help. I recently adopted a lovely big 4 yo boy who just happens to have a heart defect. He should get a pill every day. However, he is just the hardest cat to pill I have ever dealt with. None of my tricks work effectively. Baby food – nope, tuna – nope, dairy – nope, pill pockets – nope. The old standby, pop the pill in the back of the throat and hold and massage, he just sits there, doesn’t swallow and 50% of the time gets the pill back out. Any suggestions?
Love the posts. Always look forward to checking in in the mornings!
Sara, you said dairy, but did you try cream cheese? My girl needed a thyroid pill every morning, and would snap it up if I rolled it up in some cream cheese. Good luck.
{{Filing that away in the “possible future needs” folder.}}
Sara, have you ever tried a pill popper/pill gun? We have this one and this one. They both work well, but Fred (who is the medicator of cats, because I’m so bad at it) prefers the second one because it’s shorter and easier to handle (I think.) The only bad thing is that occasionally the pill (especially if it’s a small one) will get stuck in the end of the pill gun, and he doesn’t realize it ’til after the cat has scampered off. It gets the pill far enough back in their mouth that most of the time they swallow reflexively. I feel like I’ve read somewhere that if you get the pill past a certain point, they can’t spit it out, because of the barbs on their tongues.
I also wonder if you’ve tried shooting a little water into his mouth after you’ve gotten the pill in, to convince him to swallow (and help the pill go down.)
I always send people to Connie’s post about pilling a cat, it’s really helpful and easy to understand.
Hopefully there’ll be other suggestions – I’ll also post your question in Friday’s post, so people will know to chime in. 🙂
Yeah, you have to get it over the “hump” on the tongue.
Does that medication come in a liquid form? If so, you can shoot it down the back of his throat with an eye-dropper!
check with your vet – some can be crushed and then mixed into something else (don’t do it without checking first). some meds can be compounded into a gel that can be rubbed into the ears too. I would suggest seeing if it comes in liquid, but at least around here, if they won’t take a pill, the liquid is worse (and at least with a pill you get a second chance if they spit it out)
Re medicating difficult-to-pill cats, I would highly recommend getting a suspension made up. My younger cat has daily doses of two meds done with chicken flavor; one, the steroid, is still yicky even with the flavor, but he adores the other. I continue to be surprised that more vets don’t recommend suspensions and would be happy to email Robyn with the name of the East Coast company I rely on, if you like.
As always, great photos and captions, Robyn, and the Terry update is a joy.
Wonderful Terry update!! He looks SO happy and relaxed!! Love it!
Whatever you were doing to Lita… hilarious reaction! And your little cardboard chewer – maybe she’ll spit out like mine does, but then I keep finding piles that look like mouse nests. 🙂
Just looked at this again, on my computer screen instead of my tiny little phone screen… holy crap – Lita’s tiny nails are ALL out at you, she meant bizness…!! such a fierce kitten cuddler you are!! LOL
Yay, Terry! Having started reading during the time of the True Bloods, it is so heartening to see this update about Terry in his wonderful forever home.
I want to thank everyone for their comments of support yesterday. Cagney passed peacefully yesterday morning.
I’ve said this before: Love and Hisses is a community that Robyn envisioned and each of you help to sustain. We may be widely divergent, no doubt, but we come together over our love, care and concern for cats – and all animals (and their people). I know Sara will receive many suggestions from y’all on how to get her boy to take his pill, much as I received condolences yesterday.
Again, thank you for your words of comfort. I love being a member of this community. I only wish I had a suggestion for Sara! 🙂
So sorry to hear about Cagney… Thoughts are with you… Hugs…
I hope it was a peaceful passing for Cagney. Again my sympathies.
That Terry update was so great! I love the smugface as he lays on his dad — what a sweet picture!
Nothing rivals Stevie’s level of smug, however! This pic cracked me up! As did the head-squeezin’ Lita pic! “LAAYDEEE, STAAAAHHHP!”
Unfortunately, I have no advice for Sara as I had the exact same problem with one of my kitties. She needed thyroid medication every day in the last year of her life and every day was a struggle to get her to take that damn pill, which made me feel horrible. Some days I thought “oh, that went better, maybe she’s finally resigned herself to it” but NOPE, I’d come home from work and find a half dissolved pill right there in the middle of the floor or on the couch. Some cats get used to it, I guess, and some never do. I hope you find something that works for you, Sara!
I have a few that are SOOOOO easy to pill…and a few that are just IMPOSSIBLE. One, as a kitten, I couldn’t pill (still can’t). I called the vet (not my vet…one that was open on Sunday…the day I got him), and the vet tech actually laughed at me and mocked that I couldn’t pill a kitten. So I told her I will bring him in and she could “show” me how to do it. Well, she ate humble pie as she couldn’t pill him either. For him, I use liquid and shoot it into the back of his throat!
Yay for Terry!
I got Khaleesi and the Dragons banner today. It made me smile!
I couldn’t be happier for Terry!!!! YAY!!!
such a great update on Terry!!! sometimes it take a couple of tries to get the perfect match!!
those girls are getting bratty with you Miz Robyn!! 🙂
It is actually four cats in that picture !!! I think Pat’s tail is scampering off at the bottom !!!!
Sara have you tried Pill Pockets by Greenies. It worked wonderfully with one of my cats and he was very difficult when I had to give him medicine.. I would only suggest that you don’t try the duck flavor, he refused that one, it also smelled awful, but he loved the chicken :)I would also give an empty one to my other cat so he would think it a regular treat. Good luck !
Christine, your husband is a blockhead. ;-P
Seriously though, thanks for the update. So glad to hear that Terry’s doing so well.
YAY! So happy to hear that Terry is truly settling in his new and FURever home! His brother Bill says MEOW which I think means he’s happy to hear it too!!! 🙂
Ann
Terry looks so happy in his new home!
We have to give our cat 3 pills a day, also for a heart condition. Here’s how I do it, usually trouble free.
I put all 3 pills in an empty gel capsule. Since you’re only doing one pill get the smallest you can find. It helps disguise the taste of the pill. I order from Amazon. Just before I go to pill I put a tiny bit of butter on my finger and coat the capsule with it. Be careful not to use too much or the pill will slip out of your fingers when you’re trying to pill the cat. I put Jazz up on a surface that’s about waist high and use my left arm to lock him between my body and arm with my arm and hand far enough forward on his body that I can use my hand to pry his mouth open. With the lightly buttered capsule I use my right hand/fingers to poke it into the side of his mouth trying to get it far enough back that he can’t spit it out easily. I quickly use a syringe full of water to flush the pill down. I was told by the vet that cats don’t have the same swallow reflex that people do so you need to wash it down. That’s one of the reasons they’re able to spit pills back up.
It sounds harder than it is and it’ll take you a few tries to get it down. It helps if you do it in a room that you can shut the door on so that cat can’t run and hide from you when you have to try again and again. The bathroom works for me. No furniture to hide under. The biggest problem is the gel capsules. If you try more that a couple times they start to soften and disintegrate so have several ready each time. The pills inside are still good. If the capsule is only softened you can let it dry out ( pill still inside ) and it will harden back up and be useable again.
Well that was longer than I thought it would be. LOL I hope it helps somebody.