| T.R | Title | User | Personal
Name | Date | Lines |
|---|
| 810.1 | Paws crossed for Tigger... | SALEM::SHAW | | Thu Oct 06 1994 08:28 | 12 |
|
Dave, sorry to hear about Tigger's possible heart problem. I had
a dog with an enlarged heart and to the vets surprised she sorvived
quite a bit longer than was expected. It is probable that Tigger
with proper care and medication and have a pretty normal long life.
From experience, my recommendation would be to not to encourage
much high activity for him.
Best regards,
Shaw
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| 810.2 | | ANGLIN::PEREZ | Trust, but ALWAYS verify! | Fri Oct 07 1994 07:30 | 10 |
| Hi Shaw! (its getting close to ski time again!)
He seems fine, frisky, and absolutely normal to me, but I'm not a vet.
We're waiting for word from the U of M to see when he can go in for
tests, but I'm hopeful that whatever he has can be controlled.
Anyhow, we're hopeful. He's such a great guy, I'd sure hate to have
him sick. As far as activity, Mimi, the insane cat, pretty much
controls that - she figures everybody should be willing to listen to
her whenever she wants. Including at play time.
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| 810.3 | | TOOK::GASKELL | | Wed Oct 12 1994 09:45 | 23 |
| It could be thyroid, an over active thyroid elevates the heart, also
weight loss. Does Tigger crave fatty foods, tend to eat like a horse?
Does he leave a larger than ususal deposit in the kitty litter box and
does it SMELL!!! All indications of thyroid problems.
I have had two cats with thyroid problems and probably a third as they
all came from the same stray cat gene pool. Spring seemed the worst
time for them, why I don't know. We couldn't treat either of the cats
with thyroid medication for various health reasons, we just took care
of them and let them live their lives to an end, which was a peaceful
one.
I also had a little rag-doll cat with heart problems. She came to a
peaceful end as well. As she tended to be hysterical we didn't take
her any further than we had to. I am sure we could have prolonged her
life by a couple of years by taking her to Tufts or Angle Memorial, but
I was afraid the trip would kill her. She sat out the summer in the
yard enjoying the warmth and sitting in the dead leaves under the trees.
Best of luck and I hope there is something can be done, that won't
take the bottom out of your pockets.
One quick test will show if it's thyroid.
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| 810.4 | | USCTR1::MERRITT_S | Kitty City | Wed Oct 12 1994 10:05 | 19 |
| I do agree it could possibly thyroid problems because my sisters
cat Mitzi. who has thyroid problems for years, had alot of the
same symptoms. With Mitzi she lived on daily pills for over 2
years and the thyroid was controlled. Because of another illness
Mitzi needed to be operated on so the vet decided to remove the
Thyroid too!! All was well...until a few weeks ago and Mitzi
started displaying the same symptoms...Mitzi's thyroid problem
is back and she is now taking daily pills again. 1 in a million
cats have a reoccurance of thyroid problems once it is surgically
removed.....and leave it to Mitzi to be the ONE!!!
Even if it is heart problems...many kitties can live a happy normal
life with daily heart medicine. Good luck and you and your
family are in our thoughts!!! Please keep us posted.
Sandy
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| 810.5 | The Tigger (like "the Donald") has The Pills! | ANGLIN::PEREZ | Trust, but ALWAYS verify! | Sun Oct 16 1994 14:00 | 33 |
| Well, Tigger got his test results the other day! They don't absolutely
rule out thyroid, but according to the cardiologist it appears to be an
early case of mild heart disease. They did an ultrasound, EKG, and an
echo cardiogram. He was UNBELIEVABLY cooperative. Even when they had
to shave the patches for the electrodes he let us hold him and didn't
fight. The vet was very happy not to have to sedate him (she said she
typically has to sedate the cats for the tests).
We now have heart medication to give him every day, and they want to
re-check him in 3 weeks. If it works they don't see any reason why he
shouldn't live a long time. If not, they'll try some other medication.
He doesn't SEEM to have any of the symptoms in .3 or .4 - doesn't
appear to crave fatty foods (that's ME) or eat a lot (he doesn't push
the other two away to get at every last scrap of food). His BIGGEST
craving seems to be for angelfood cake - which we have to wrap and hide
in a closed cupboard - otherwise he eats through the wrapping to help
himself no matter where we put it!
Anyhow, now we have the problem of trying to get him to eat this little
tiny half pill! So far we've tried wrapping it in his cat food,
cheese, even a little ham. He doesn't want it. I think he's confused
- we've never fed ANY of the cats at the table, and never given them
"people food", and now we're suddenly catching him in the morning and
trying to make him eat this bite of food... He does his "passive
resistance" act - becomes totally dead weight, closes eyes and mouth,
and just refuses to even acknowledge our existence - its like trying to
get a little kid to take medicine! We're going to see if we can find
some kind of cat treat that is soft so we can form it around the pill,
and has a taste that he finds unresistable...
We're both relieved if this is all we have to do - I'm not sure Tigger
is particularly thrilled at all the attention!
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| 810.6 | suggestion | ASABET::COHEN | | Mon Oct 17 1994 06:34 | 3 |
| How about putting Tigger's pill in angel food cake?
Lynn
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| 810.7 | | HELIX::SKALTSIS | Deb | Mon Oct 17 1994 07:26 | 3 |
| or just butter the pill?
Deb
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| 810.8 | Little triangles of kitty liver? | ANGLIN::PEREZ | Trust, but ALWAYS verify! | Mon Oct 17 1994 08:55 | 15 |
| re .6: the angelfood cake!
I think he'd be happiest if I just buried the pill in the middle of a
BIG angelfood cake and just let him eat his way to it! We also have to
keep the sugar in covered container because he's had a sweet tooth ever
since he was a kitten. Although, I don't want to make it sound like
he's the only problem - the OTHER 2 have their own "endearing"
characteristics!
Yesterday at the store we bought a little container of soft cat treats
that taste like liver (at least the container says so, I haven't tried
them YET). This morning I buried the pill in one of them, set it down
in front of him and he lapped it up... now I just have to catch him
each morning and make sure HE eats it and not the other ones! Oh well,
its a small price to pay for keeping him healthy.
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| 810.9 | | ROMEOS::BALZERMA | | Mon Oct 24 1994 15:59 | 11 |
|
I suggest just getting one of those "pill poppers" with the flexible
tips. Coat the pill with butter, etc. and it just flies right down.
Bailey was on 1/2 cardizem twice daily, Lasix x1 and 1/2 baby aspirin
x1. It was the medication that would ultimately extend his life, so
I could not take the chance of mixing it with the food and him not
ingesting it. As it was, he got pretty good at getting it up and
spitting it out (i found i or 2 under the rim of the tray his food
was on), but the majority of the time it went down and stayed down.
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| 810.10 | The elder statesman appears to be doing well! | ANGLIN::PEREZ | Trust, but ALWAYS verify! | Wed Oct 26 1994 08:41 | 37 |
| re -.1:
We thought we might have to do something like this but Tigger the
CHOWHOUND (chowcat?) is living up to his former reputation!
He's gotten into the routine of waiting at my feet while I put the
little pill into a treat, put the treat on his food plate and set it in
front of him. He gobbles it up and then I feed everybody. By putting
it on the plate I can make sure he's eating the pill.
My (our/their/Tiggers?) vet did something unexpected... She called the
other day and left a message asking how Tigger was doing! I thought
that was really nice of her. When I called her back she said she just
wanted to make sure he was taking the pills, wasn't having any side
effects, and was starting to gain weight! She wants me to bring him in
to get weighed and give his heart a quick listen! I've not had a
veterinarian before that was concerned enough to call an check.
One thing I found very amusing... the medication came with a big sheet
of possible side effects to watch for - things like possible
drowsiness, possible hyperactivity, tingling in the extremeties, etc.,
and the usual warnings about operating heavy machinery if experiencing
side effects etc... We laughed because HOW DO YOU TELL IF A CAT IS
FEELING DROWSY? They're just big fur covered, snoring, meatloaves now!
What, if feeling sleepy they'd sleep 23 hours/day instead of 22?
Actually, of late he's been quite active, chasing the moths we've
managed to get infested with (his aim is DREADFUL, but he tries) - but
that's another story!
Anyhow, when I was on the phone with the vet I told her we'd explained
all the cautions to Tigger and especially told him to inform us should
he experience any tingling in his extremities! She was amused too!
Anyhow, he's not as gaunt and bony as he was, and he appears to be
doing well on the medication, and he REALLY seems to like the cat
treats. In fact, I'm having to give each cat at treat in the morning
so noone feels slighted!
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| 810.11 | How do you tell if your cat is drowsy? | ISLNDS::WHITMORE | | Wed Oct 26 1994 11:11 | 5 |
| ....if he knocks your house down while driving that bulldozer....
;^)
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| 810.12 | Besides, his legs are too short to reach the pedals! | ANGLIN::PEREZ | Trust, but ALWAYS verify! | Thu Oct 27 1994 11:31 | 3 |
| ...Thats no bulldozer, he just sounds like an idling diesel when
purring... Of course, the whole couch and everyone on it vibrates
along!
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| 810.13 | Tigger appears to be doing well! | ANGLIN::PEREZ | Trust, but ALWAYS verify! | Fri Nov 11 1994 10:27 | 12 |
| Well, updating his royal orangeness!
Tigger had a checkup and his heart rate is still a little high - but
the vet admitted that since Tigger dislikes going there so much that
the cause could be nerves rather than a problem...
In the last 3 weeks, he's GAINED A POUND! So, I think he's on the road
to being his normal self instead of a skeleton!
I brought home some fresh catnip the other night... 2 of them loved
it, one ignored it! Tigger was a HAPPY cat - he ate the stuff, but
I've NEVER heard him purr so loud!
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