Susie's checkup

[oconnorjoy]

Thanks for encouraging me to take Susie for a checkup. She has some age related problems, but is doing well for 21 years old. She does have cataracts so the vet suggested we leave lights on for her at night...she thinks that may be contributing to her nightly meowing. She has also given her lactulose 500 ml 1/2 ml twice daily to help her be more regular. She says her back end is showing the signs of age and not functioning as well as it should. She has a slight heart murmer and one of her kidney's is shrinking. The thing I needed to hear from her ended up being positive...she says she doesn't see signs that Susie is suffering to any extreme. (other than the aches and pains of getting older) She did sugest I give her 1/2 a baby asprin crushed and sprinkled into her food every three days if her arthritis is acting up. She did give me some senior's canned food for Susie to try...says it will be easier for her to digest. She also told me that it is time for our family to start preparing for the fact that Susie will not be with us for alot longer. I appreciated her honesty. Susie is a wonderful part of our family and does deserve all I can give her at this point in her life.

ps. She loves the seniors cat food!

[Auntie Debbie]

I'm so glad that your vet found nothing seriously wrong with Susie! Leaving the lights on or adding night lights should help her see better in the dark, and hopefully cut down on her nightly yowls. As for being regular...I had an older cat that at the age of 21 developed a severe constipation problem, where her back end just couldn't <i>complete the job</i>, so my vet suggested 1/2 tsp of Metamucil in her canned cat food. Worked like a charm and she lived to see 24!
I hope your Susies will be with you for many more years...and thanks for the update!

[oconnorjoy]

I'll keep the metamusil in mind if the prescription doesn't work. I'll pass some of your kitty kisses on to Susie...she loves kisses.

[Traci]

May I suggest that you ask your vet about Cosequin rather than the aspirin? At her age and given the problems, I don't think I'd want to risk the aspirin, especially due to potential stomach or gastrointestinal ulcer risk. Please ask about the cosequin. While it may take up to 6 weeks to show improvement on the cosequin, it is safer than aspirin.

I'm glad to hear that Susie's problems for the most part, will be manageable, please don't ever hesitate to contact your vet if ever you are uncertain or if Susie develops any signs of progression, especially with the kidneys, keep up with routine testing of kidney function in the event she gets overly dehydrated, anorexic, lethargic.

[Susan and the girls]

I'm so glad Susie's vet visit provided you with some good news.

Each time I read about kitties who've lived into their 20s, I pray that my girls reach that age. The other day at the vet, when I took Belle in (to find out she has ringworm!), the vet tech asked how old she was. (This wasn't one of the regular vet techs I see, even though she's been there for a long time.) When I told her "she just turned 6," she made the comment, "Wow, she looks really good for her age."

I was stunned, since I don't consider 6 to be even slightly old. The vet tech did correct herself and say, "Well, 6 isn't that old anyway," but I was still kinda wondering about that comment.

I'm planning to get a full blood work-up on Belle when her next regular physical rolls around, just so we have a baseline on her various levels. But that doesn't mean I think she's OLD!

Maybe the vet tech just meant that she would have guessed Belle to be much younger.....

Anyway, give sweet Susie a hug from me and the girls. You're very, very fortunate to have had her for so long!!!

[Mona]

I agree with Traci of course about the aspirin. I give my cat, Honeybun who is almost 5, Cosequin everyday in her food. It is flavored with chicken and tuna flavoring. She had a knee operation 6 months ago, and I want to keep her joints lubricated. The brand I use is:

http://www.extendedyears.com/health/10207.html

and it has the "Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval". I sprinkle one capsule in her canned food each day!! I see signs that she plays more and it also seems to help her be regular.

I hope Susie has many more happy years with you and your family.

Mona and Honeybun [/quote]

[oconnorjoy]

Thanks Traci...I will ask my vet about this. I don't want to risk giving Susie anything that will irritate her digestive system...we have a hard enough time with that as it is. I have started giving her less food more often. She gets about 1 teaspoon every few hours. I am lucky enough to have someone home at all times so this is possible. It seems to work for her...doesn't get sick anymore..

[davet]

cats but ironically when i interned in Miami, we used to give two, yes two, adult aspirins to cats that we thought were scorpion bitten..did make them toss their cookies but it apparantly reacted against the scorpion venum....now days if i did that the cats would have probably died....guess they were more hardy then....

[oconnorjoy]

Yeah...I remember those times...I am ashamed to admit I was one who let my cat have as many kittens as she wanted to...and kept busy finding homes. My Mom says I was soley responsible for the cat population in Labrador City. Thank God times have changed.

Susan, I know what you mean about people's perception of a cat's age. I got my first Siamese - Coco from the SPCA 22 years ago. He was about to be put down because he was old. He was only 5...We had him until he was 16 and he was one of the most caring gentle souls. I was a single mom of two at the time and he was my confident. He took Susie under his wing when she arrived at three months. Sadly he passed away at 16...but he certainly had alot of life left in him after the 5 year mark...

[Susan and the girls]

I can't believe someone thought 5 was old.....However, "old" in the eyes of the animal shelters is relative..... The kittens are adoptable and the older kitties are not as adoptable, and unfortunately, there's never a shortage of kittens.

I had strictly "farm cats" growing up - and old Tiger lived to be 14. He was an "intact" tom whose ears had been ripped so much in fights with other toms that they actually folded forward. His silhouette made him look like what he was - an old bald man. LOL He was a tough old boy, and even though he was probably the most unattractive cat you could ever meet, he was special to us. (My parents didn't vet our family pets because putting food on the table for the kids was more important to them than shots. I identified with your comment about being responsible for populating the entire county with cats.....)

I also had a precious kitty, Midnight, who did her share of populating the county with kittens..... She lived to be over 10, which was pretty old for a kitty who had 3-4 litters of kittens (10-15 kittens) a year. She would even take in strange kittens who didn't have a mother. I believe she would have raised a squirrel or another critter if we'd given it to her! Believe it or not, even though she died about 10 years ago, I still dream that I go out to my parents' house and see her - and each time I dream it, I scoop her up in my arms to bring her to live with me. Belle is a lot like her - very maternal and loving.

I thought of this, too, when I was thinking about the vet tech's comment about Belle looking young --- I was at school the other day when a parent brought in her two persian kitties. One looked absolutely ancient, and I was sure it was at least 13 or 14 years old - if not older. The other looked young - maybe a year or two. I asked about the older one's age, and the parent said, "Oh, he's old.....he's 6." (Of course, I nearly gasped, thinking about how old he looked compared to Belle...) So maybe THAT'S the type of cat the vet tech was comparing her to....

Do you have a picture of sweet Susie? I would love to see her. If not, what color is she? Describe her for me. I like to be able to put faces to names when I'm thinking of and praying for all these kitties!