Early yesterday:
“Lady, you took all our food away last night, I’m sure it was an accident, but… What? I’m going to get what? Oh, lady. Silly, silly lady. I am already CLEARLY a genius, I don’t need to be tutored!”
“If he’s a genius, I’m the love child of Albert Einstein and Stephen Hawking. If he’s not going, I’m SUPER not going.”
“Here, let me spiff you up before you go get smart, Floompy.”
These things just never end well, do they?
So I left the house with Privet and Hemlock in carriers, and according to Fred, Juniper immediately began haunting the hallway and bathroom and his room, howling the entire time. When I got home, I snuggled with her for a few minutes, then put her in the bathroom and cleaned the foster room and vacuumed the rest of the upstairs.
She liked that about as well as you’d imagine. When I let her out of the bathroom, she ran and hid up inside the recliner in Fred’s room. Eventually she was coaxed back out, and after a while, she relaxed.
(At some point, she took her collar off, and I still haven’t found it.)
Pretty girl. Doesn’t she have amazing eyes?
We took a nap.
She decided “This ‘only child’ business isn’t so bad!”
Then her foster siblings came home, and she was very glad – if a little hissy – to see them again!
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Jake’s got his loons well-tuned, thank you very much.
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Previously
2015: Introducing the Swimmers and the Squash Bugs (to each other).
2014: ::fume:: “I HATE THAT GUY.”
2013: And it seems that Tommy had had JUST ABOUT ENOUGH.
2012: To Polly, Tony Rocky Horror Pickle said “Poke.”
2011: Molly reacts to Jake’s intrusion into her territory.
2010: He’s kind of like Godzilla, all flailing around growling while tiny Martin and Dodger and Melodie and Moxie go running for their lives.
2009: “Dear lord, please let me catch the laser light, it’s all I want in this world, thank you. Amen.”
2008: No entry.
2007: No entry.
2006: No entry.
2005: No entry.
Awwww…poor sweet Juniper. I am sure she greatly appreciated the extra love and attention you gave her.
Jakey fills that container to capacity!
It’s a good thing it’s a flexible container, right? 😀
I’m glad everyone is back safe and sound from their “tutoring”!
Gosh, looking back at the Squashies and Swimmers makes me miss seeing bitty babies. I just love that age! (Attention Universe – that is not a plea to send a stray mama or litter to my yard again…but you can send one to Robyn!!) 😉
Can you believe I haven’t had a single bottle baby this year?! I kind of miss them at that age, too. 🙂
Question for the L&H Community: Our oldest cat, Stella, is a 14.5 years old Angora-mix and has lost too much weight-she is down to 7.5 lbs. from her normal 10+ lb. weight. She recently started hyperthyroid meds, and when the vet retested her the thyroid numbers were good. But, she didn’t gain any weight in the 2-month period between starting to take the meds and the re-weigh. We bought a pet scale and are weighing her weekly, and she has actually lost a few ounces over the past few weeks. We feed our four cats Wellness Core Original dry and canned, and she likes the canned well enough, but isn’t too fond of the dry anymore. I think it may be a tooth issue (she’s prone to tartar), but don’t want to put her under to have them cleaned right now due to her weight loss and her tendency to be very sensitive to any procedure/meds (I’m surprised the hyperthyroid meds haven’t bothered her–knock on wood). So, here’s the question (well, 2): 1) Robyn, what is the name of the stuff you give to older cats to help with nutrition/appetite? 2) For everyone–any suggestions as to what is best to help her “pack on the pounds”? What about kitten food–any suggestions? I know that’s good for pregnant mama cats, so I am thinking of trying it. Any other suggestions? Thank you in advance. Stella is just the sweetest, best cat and it kills me whenever I pick her up and feel how light and bony she has become.
Lisa, I’ll post this in Friday’s entry so more people can chime in, but wanted to tell you right away that it’s called Liqui-Tinic. I get ours from Amazon – we originally got it from a vet.
As far as helping to pack on the weight, I’d start feeding her more often (we always had to feed Spanky his extra meals in the bathroom in his last year, because the other cats thought if he was getting food, they should too), as often as you can. I wouldn’t bother switching to kitten food (unless there’s one she really likes the taste of), because I don’t think there’s much of a calorie difference – although now that I’ve said that, it’s a rare cat who doesn’t like Royal Canin Babycat, so you might offer her some of that. You can also try Gerber chicken and gravy baby food (most cats love it) as an additional treat. Basically, feed her what she’ll eat, several times a day, is what I’d advise.
we agree – maybe just try feeding her more often even if it is slightly smaller meals. we know how hard it is when they get older…..
If she still likes her wet food, then I’d just feed her that as often as she wants it and not worry about the dry food. Plus, I know they lose their sense of smell somewhat as they age, and some medications may effect it, too. It helped that I warmed my late Boo’s food up in the microwave (especially leftovers from the fridge) so it smelled stronger to her, since she also lost vision as she aged (but she made it to 21 nevertheless!). So wet and stinky may be a winning combination for Stella! Good luck!
Have you had her kidney levels checked? It won’t show as bad unless she has lost 75% of her kidney function. They really need to come up with a better test. I had a kitty with a thyroid problem which was treated, but her weight loss was due to kidney failure. Her age could make her prone. Try a Renal Support food and see if that helps. Talk to your vet. If you are feeding her kitten food or any high protein food, she will continue to lose weight as her kidneys cannot process it and will throw it all. Hugs to you. My 16 yr old is in renal failure. This is the most common issue for aging cats. So, if her kidney test comes back fine, still try renal food.
the new sdma test – which is part of the current senior blood panel for cats if it is run through IDEXX – shows kidney issues earlier.
Renal support cat food is actually low protein cat food, and exactly what you don’t want for a cat who is losing weight and muscle mass.
I heard something was coming along but didn’t know/remember just what, so I omitted it here. Thanks for having that info!! 🙂
If you don’t feed them Renal, they will lose weight and the protein will destroy their kidneys even further. I recommend she talk to her vet about it.
Also, when the kidneys cannot filter properly, it causes nausea and the kitty will not want to eat or throw up a lot!
Have her kidneys been checked? My hyperthyroid kitty (who is almost 18) ended up with renal issues as well, and the hypert was sorta ‘hiding’ it. What I do with her to keep her weight up now is feeding her higher calorie foods (choosing the highest calorie canned food I can find, like Wellness brand turkey, or Nature’s Variety rabbit, etc.). I also will feed her Fancy Feast if that’s all she wants to eat that day, as sometimes she will turn her nose up to the Wellness. I figure it’s better to have her eating something, even if it’s not as ‘good’ as it could be.
apparently losing her collar was her way of telling you what you can do with that vacuum cleaner MOL
Jake! So glad to see your loons tuned and ready.
it can be hard when your friends go away and come back smelling different