Gypsy 06/1992 ~ 08/07/2011

[Tambrey]

Well, Gypsy will be crossing the Bridge Friday morning before I go to work :*(

I was cleaning her after eating as she has stopped bathing herself and i noticed her chin looked funny. I laid her over in my lap and she has a sore and some swelling. I know she would not survive a dental or even cleaning out the sore. Maybe antibiotics, but why keep prolonging her life when she is soooo skinny now, and soooo sleepy all the time and her eyes are cloudy and she does not hear well any more...

I will spend one more night with her, and we will take her together, hubby and I, Friday morning. We will bury her out back Friday night.

Gypsy is 19 and has lived a good long life with basically no major health issues ever, other than teeth.

Majik and others who went before will be there waiting for her...and I am sure Tigger will be happy to see her again - he picked her out when he was about 6 an made her his own kitten!

This is not easy, but at least I am better prepared and sort of okay with this part of her journey. It is still difficult, but, well...I know you all understand

[Traci]

When was she last examined, Tambrey? How do you know this isn't something simply treatable? A sore on the chin could be relatively mild and treatable.

Why is she so skinny? Age aside, and again, when was she last examined?

[Tambrey]

She was in about 8 months ago. She is not eating like she used to. I will put food down and sit to watch....she takes a few bites then lays down, I wait a couple minutes and point to the food and stir it up some and she jumps up to eat it like she did not know it was even there. This goes on for a while.

I just KNOW that if I take her to the (local) vet, their only option will be to let her go. And, I owe them near to $600 that I am working on paying off.

I cannot afford to take her to the hospital in the city, where they will want payment up front for anything.

You know I would do anything within my power to do what I can for our animals...but sometimes, the power just is no longer there...so, where does that leave me?!

[Traci]

Have you tried canned food, with enough water to make it moist or soupy?

Sometimes, it is texture of food they are turned off by, particularly if they have bad teeth or painful gums - tiny grains or minced/diced/stringy stuff gets caught between their teeth and it hurts, and of these textures can put pressure on a sore tooth because they have to chew and put pressure on the teeth. Try the softest, smoothest canned food, can also mix in blender with just a touch of water to make smooth consistency. Sometimes, cats with bad teeth prefer to lap at a more pudding-like or slightly soupy mixture instead of having to put their mouths/chins on or around chunky canned or dry food.

The same applies to dry food - if you have a coffee grinder (clean it first), just grind up a small handful of kibbles to really fine texture (almost powder), put on a saucer, add small amount of water to make smooth consistency. Electric grinders are cool.

Its possible she IS hungry and is too painful to eat. She may not be a good candidate for dental work, but you can still make her food palatable and eatable.

Unless she has kidney failure, I don't see why you can't at least try to make her food more appealing in texture, she might surprise you.

[Tambrey]

oh yes, I get a variety of canned foods...sliced, diced, flaked, patte, and I do add water to them for her..if she does not eat one kind, I open another can and give it a try...one of the others will eat what she did not

we were looking at the sore on her chin, and she tends to sleep on her left side, and it is the left side of her chin where it is..maybe a pressure sore? maybe antibiotic ointment or something will help....

I don't know...all I know is that I do not want to prolong her life if she is no longer enjoying it, you know? But if she wants to fight and hang around, I will also let her do that....in the end, I do not want her to suffer or die alone somewhere hiding in the house....

[Traci]

The only way to know what the sore is from is to get it checked, it might just be something minimal.

And that's what I mean by the food, even if you mash the diced, minced, flaked, patte, etc with a fork, it's not smooth enough, it has to be as non-grainy as possible, no chunks or bits in it.

I do this for all my pre and post-dental cats, and renal failure cats and any cat who isn't eating. The blender and the coffee grinder are life savers. I put canned food (or tuna in spring water for tempting) in the blender with just enough water to soften and make pudding-like or soup, when it's done there is NO grainy texture to hurt tender teeth and they appreciate lapping it off a saucer as opposed to having to chew. (Remember also, cat's don't like their whiskers touching a bowl or deep dish when they're eating, particularly when they have a bad tooth - the movement of the whiskers makes their cheeks move which in turn hurts the gums near a bad tooth - it's the little things that make all the difference).

Once the food is blended with a bit of water, I pour it into little ziploc or rubbermaid plastic bowls with lids - I use the very small ones with screw-on lids, they are hard plastic - the food stays good in the fridge for 3 or 4 days and I just add a touch of hot water to a serving on the saucer. Blending it will create alittle froth, and it will settle, so stir it up before each serving.

I love my coffee grinder for kibbles, Cotton loved his dry food over canned, he always did, so when he wasn't eating some blended cat food, he ate the kibbles ground to a fine powder and I just added a few teaspoons of lukewarm water to it on a saucer so he could lap it. He loved that.

Your vet will be able to tell you what kind of condition she's in by examining her, particularly her mouth. Her eyes really should have been rechecked earlier, I hope it's not glaucoma or retinal problems, those can hurt!

[Tambrey]

Thanks....she still likes the dry kibble too, but I do add water to taht for her and she laps it up as well

It just gets very discouraging sometimes, especially when we don't even have the money or means to try to make it right.....

[momPaws]

all I know is that I do not want to prolong her life if she is no longer enjoying it, you know

Tambrey- I agree with you. When Honey got so old and I knew her time was coming I decided to let her go with dignity and not prolong her suffering by (un)heroic means. She had such a happy life and I didn't want the end of it to be painful and frightening (for her) medical procedures. I remember a poem davet posted about that. Every pet owner has to make that difficult personal choice. God Bless you for all you do for your own animals and the forgotten ones.

[E's]

MomPaws wrote:

Tambrey- I agree with you. When Honey got so old and I knew her time was coming I decided to let her go with dignity and not prolong her suffering by (un)heroic means. She had such a happy life and I didn't want the end of it to be painful and frightening (for her) medical procedures. I remember a poem davet posted about that. Every pet owner has to make that difficult personal choice. God Bless you for all you do for your own animals and the forgotten ones.

Thanks, MomPaws! This is exactly how I feel too! My precious "Q" kitty turned 17 years this spring. Q is a black cat but definitely has some Siamese - this shows up in a loud yowl... last year he began caterwauling at odd hours of day or night. I took him to my really fine lady vets here in Austin. After complete blood panels and exams ($$$ worth!) the boss vet and her assistant agreed Q should not have dental work done, was amazingly healthy for his age and the yowling is emotional rather than physical. So when he yowls at odd hours now, I tell him firmly to hush, and he does - then I try to give him special attention all day: brushing, petting, treats...
I think my DD put it best when she had to let her beloved black cat "Cessna" go at almost 21 years: Nan said we take such good care of our pets nowadays, they're living beyond the biological norms...

You're doing great, Tambrey - I certainly agree with MomPaws on that, too!

[Tina B and crew]

Thinking of you and Gypsy, Tambrey. You will make the right decision. (((hugs)))