Conference misery::feline_v1

    Hmm.  I have a few short years to think of those things also.  Sasha
    was 8 last week, but time does move on.  I noticed in either Cat's
    mag or Cat Fancy - either the last issue or the one before, had
    an article on the Golden Years.  You might want to check it out.
    I'm sort of hiding my head in the sand when it comes to Sasha
    getting "old" - she thinks and acts like she is a kitten!

    
    Our 16 year old whom we just lost started losing weight very subtly
    the last two years of her life.  Come to find out it was due to
    liver failure.  We did not realize it soon enough to really change
    her diet but it seems that most commercial cat foot has the wrong
    kind of protein for them when this starts.  I got a diet from my
    vet as well as some special cat food (which she hated of course).
    It looked to me like it would be a very hard diet to manage with
    a finicky cat.
    
    Ours made it 16 years on Tender Vittles, no vitamins and very few
    table scraps.  I did find she liked soft food at the very end
    (Fancy Feast).

    My Cassie is over 19 years old.  Until the last couple of years
    she always ate and liked Kal Kan.  Now she prefers Fancy Feast along
    with some dry and some Tender Vittle type food.  I've never given
    her vitamins and table food was very rare for her (we don't eat
    much meat at my house).  Her companion died two years ago at age
    17.  So my cats have lived to nice old ages on grocery cat food.
    I will admit that Cassie is now just about as skinny as she can
    get.  I think at her age (and maybe kidney problems) it is to be
    expected.
    
    cec
    

    Hi Kate,
    
    I admit I think of this, too, as my Billie will be 11 this summer
    (still gets the "crazies" and tears around the house a lot, tho).
    Your vet will know best, however.  Mine says that a general rule
    is that the more ornery they are, the longer they live (so Billie
    should outlive me!).  Also being indoor cats help a lot, too.  I've
    always given her 9 Lives, and occasional table scraps.
    
    I had a cat when I was a kid that lived 16 years.  She was an
    indoor/outdoor cat, had NO shots (who knew?), and ate Calo every
    day, with an occasional bird or mole to round things out.  She also
    had a thing for canteloupe rinds--don't ask me why.  
    
    So there you are--again, check your vet.  But I think a lot of love
    and attention, as Pookie obviously gets, can't help but add years.
    :-)
    
    Jane

    Funny you should mention canteloupe!  My little Ivan - 3 1/2 months
    old - goes really crazy when I preface a meal with that golden fruit!
    It really surprised me - although I once had a dog that liked apples
    and jello, but that was when I was little!  It's funny - Ivan almost
    sits up on his hind legs and will beg for a bite - eats it, then
    waits for me to pour the juice onto the paper plate for him!
    
    
    

    I've had 2 cats so far, both pure-bred Persians.  Fluff died peacefully
    in her sleep at age 20 years.  Sapphire was put down due to kidney
    failure at age 18 years.  
    
    I got Fluff at age 8-weeks and Sapphire at 10-weeks so I really
    knew their personalities/habits.  My observations on their aging
    process are:  
    
    Both cats lost "some" (not massive) weight loss near the end.  My
    recollection is about l-year before they passed on.  Second thing
    I noticed in that final year (and many people thought I was nuts
    until I had them look at the photos I took each year) was a change
    in their faces - this is hard to describe using this media, but
    their eyes appeared to sink in somewhat -- much the same as very
    old people look.
    
    Neither cat ever had a sick day in her life.  They were fed 9-Lives
    supplemented by poached fish or boiled chicken.  They were strictly
    in-door cats and were total "babies".  Although they were both show
    material, I spayed both of them when they reached the appropriate
    age and kept them as pets.  (No flame intended on cat showers here
    -- just my personal philisophy).  I can only hope that their peaceful,
    non-stressful & loving environment contributed to their longevity.
    
    Fluff & Sapphire were very frisky til the very end - Sapphire could
    still jump on top of the refrigerator in one leap.                
    
    Here's hoping that your "baby" is only middle-aged.
    
    Pat
    
    
    

    
    Cantaloupe seems to be a common "love it" item for kitties.  My
    (now departed) black and white shorthair and I had many a meal together
    which consisted of cantaloupe and blue cheese (our favorite foods).
    
    Years later, I found out why.  It seems that cantaloupe rind contains
    a chemical that is similar in effect to catnip - gets 'em tipsy!
    (Like catnip, it doesn't have that effect on me ;-))
    
    Now if I can only find out why the abys go nuts over green beans!
    
    Rita
    

    Mnay thanks to all for your input.. Pookie is due atKitty Kamp for
    her shots.. i will talk to Dr.Eric..cantaloupe huh.. thats funny
    Pookie is not a peolpe food eating cat.. except for an occasional
    treat of hagen-daz vanilla ice cream.. my mother(her nana).. pookie-
    sat one day.. and decided to give her a treat it was unfortunately
    sealtest and she took her dainty little paw and pusshe it away..
    so my mother wnet to the store and bought her her very own favorite
    flavor of hagen-daz..and commented on how "spoiled" she is..
    but back to the main topic.. i appreciate your input...
    many thanks
    kate.. pookies mom..

    Re: 7
    
    I found my persian one day in my tea!!!!!  I had just poured a cup
    and put the teabag to one side and my cat went nuts.....I found
    out why.  It was mint tea.  They say mint does the same thing as
    catnip.  I believe it because my old used tea bag was being batted
    around the room before I had a chance to throw it away!!!!
    
    What a cup of tea!
    
    Bobbi
    

    Re .9:
    
    >It was mint tea.  They say mint does the same thing as
    >catnip.
    
    Not exactly.  Catnip is often known in the U,K, as "catmint" because
    it's a mintlike plant.  An article about two decades ago in _Science_
    [AAAS publication] indicated that the active ingredient in catnip
    acts as a repellant to the bugs that might normally eat it (catnip
    when alive seems less attractive to cats).
    
    Some like the smell of mint.  Others like the smell of Clorox or
    other equivalent bleach.    
    
    Steve Kallis, Jr.

    my Meagan will be 17 in july, and we've been feeding her (and our
    others) hill's C/D kibble, and Bright Eyes canned food - her appetite
    is probably abnormal for an elderly girl - she'll devour everything
    in sight, if allowed!  and she's a bit portly (we try to keep her
    as much under 12 lbs as we can) - she's deaf now, as well as diabetic
    and arthritic - actually, i'm more concerned about her arthritis than
    anything else - we go all out trying to pamper her - it's hard watching
    someone you've loved for so long starting to be not quite as he/she's
    always been...

    don't know if i'll ever _really_ be prepared ... karen

    Both Chiun and Abigail are roughly 11 now, and neither seems to
    notice particularly (though Chiun does seem to stiffen up sometimes
    - not surprising after all the damage he's taken). However, my parents
    had a blue-point Siamese named Yum-Yum who died of old age at about
    12.
    
    I was working then and didn't get home often. The last Christmas
    she was alive, I was shocked when I saw her; she had always been
    a rather tubby cat, fond of her food, and cuddly. But near the end
    she was frail and gaunt; the skin on her ears lost its fur and became
    thin and brittle, like paper; her eyes seemed to sink in, and she
    spent most of her time huddled in her favorite chair.

    I thought she looked like she was in pain, and that my folks just
    hadn't noticed how bad it had gotten, seeing her every day; but
    they didn't want to put her to sleep as long as she still enjoyed
    being petted. She died in her sleep one night, curled up on her
    chair, and perhaps my folks were right to let her take her time.

    The oldest cat I ever knew was a barn cat who was 22 when he died.
    He'd been caught in a fan belt at an early age and his tail was
    shaped like a burnt match - looked rather like Bill the Cat, in
    fact. He'd been neutered, which was the only reason he lived so
    long; a full tom would never have made it. He was a real sweetheart
    despite living outdoors in Wyoming winters. He came down with what
    seemed to be a urinary-tract problem, the common scourge of older
    neutered males; he began to drink a lot of water and seem
    uncomfortable, and a while later I heard that he had been found
    dead one morning. His people weren't unkind, but to them cats were
    working animals, not house pets; if they'd kept him inside and fed
    him and vetted him, he might have made it to 30. But who's to say
    he would have liked it more than what he had?

    I think the old dogs are the saddest, though. The same ranch family
    had a fifteen-year-old sheepdog who was so arthritic he could barely
    stand, and it was heartbreaking to see him try to follow the truck
    or run - stagger - after the horses. He died when he tried to dash
    up to greet his master, who was driving up in the truck; the dog
    missed his footing and fell under the wheel. All in all, that was
    kinder than some of the alternatives, but it's still sad. 

    The best we can do is give them all the care we can and try to save
    them pain at the end. May the end be a long time coming...
    
    -b

 Ref. .11

 I understand your feelings about Megan.  Munchkin is 15 years old, also
 diabetic and arthritic.  Because of the diabetes, a cortisone-compound
 medication is not recommended.  So the vet looked into others, and checked
 with the endocrinologist at Angell Memorial Hospital.  Munch has been
 on butyzoledene (sp?), 1/4 of a tablet every second or third day.  The
 change in him is quite dramatic!  I also worry about the arthritis, and
 notice that changes in weather cause his arthritis to flare up - just like
 people!  Have you checked with your vet about medication for Megan's
 arthritis?  

 J.

    re: .13

    what cortisone compound are you talking about?  was that in reference
    to the arthritis?  i have asked my vet about it, and he really didn't
    seem to think there was much we could do - but, in a couple of weeks
    we'll be seeing a new vet, and i will ask him about something to make
    her more comfortable - thanks for the tip - has Munchkin been diabetic
    for long or is it an elderly condition?  it's been about 3 years for
    meagan - she only needs 1.5 units insulin now, though...

    anyone else have diabetes mellitus around here?

    karen

Karen,

You need to be careful with diabetics.  Cortisone is not recommended because
it will have an adverse effect on the diabetes.  The compound Munchkin is
on is butyzolodene (sp?), and the only ill-effect from that is that it may
act on liver functions.

Munchkin has been diabetic for about a year-and-a-half and has 4 units
of insulin daily.  He's 15 (this summer), and weighs 12.5 pounds.  Both his
mother and grandmother were diabetic, so in cats, like humans, it runs in
the family.

You also need to be very careful of any infections, and diabetics get
gum infections easily.  So, watch Megan's gums, and if they look red and/or
swollen, tell your vet.  Any infection with a diabetic travels through the
system and plays havoc with the insulin requirements.  Munch had a gum
infection which turned into hepatatis.  He was one, real sick pussy for
about 4 days.

Good luck with Megan.

J.

    re .15:

    my understanding of diabetes mellitus is that it seems to be associated
    with old age, not necessarily anything genetic - indoubtedly there are
    different kinds and causes of diebetes - i'm wondering if meagan's may
    have anything to do with Ovaban - a vet many years ago had her taking
    ovaban fairly regularly for overgrooming & rodent ulcers - i found out
    years later that prolonged use of Ovaban can lead to diabetes - anyhow,
    i certainly _never_ give her anything without checking with my vet...

    i had never been told about gum infections before, but luckily she's
    been fine... glad Munch recovered from his! - must have been very
    traumatic for you both...

    karen

    Hmmmmm...I'm very old for a cat, but....
    
    I had been taking bute for arthritis, but got switched off about
    a year ago.  My doctor tells me that bute is no longer given to
    humans because of its linkage to diabetes.  I got switched to a
    new drug called Orudis, and am now on an ever newer drug called
    Nalfon.  Both a profen based.  I wonder if bute has the same effects
    on kitties.  I dunno....
    
    Old Mary

    My cat Bunny (as in Dumb) is 16.  In the past couple of months she
    has been sleeping more and her appetite has diminished.  She still
    demands to be petted in the mornings, however.  She has always been
    extremely shy (I wound up keeping her from her mother's second litter
    because while all the other kittens came out to play and I sold
    them, Bunny hid behind the stove.)  She bawls me out as only a Siamese
    can whenever I have company for the weekend.  As soon as the guests
    are gone, out she comes from hiding and delivers a tirade.  This
    behavior hasn't changed.  She just doesn't seem to have as much
    energy as she did a year ago.
    
    I need a recommendation for a vet in the Millbury/Worcester/Grafton
    area.  Anyone know someone good?

    How about Tufts in Grafton.  They have a small animal clinic
    now I believe.
    
    Donna