Cat Lovers Thread

[Michelle420]

 

[Michelle420]

 

[Esmeralda]

 

[Esmeralda]

 

[Esmeralda]

 

[mamooth]

I'm still working with new boy. He's decided that being inside the house is a good thing now. Colder weather really adjusts attitudes.

Neutering is next. He's put on enough weight to be healthy enough for the operation. With his improved health, he's gotten a bit aggressive with my girl cat. He'll occasionally pounce on her to demonstrate who the boss is, making her scream and run off. And he's started marking his territory.

I also have to cut down on his food. He'd been eating 3 cans a day. Not the little cans, the standard-sized 5.5 ounce cans. I've never seen a cat pig-out like that before. He was eating about 10% of his body weight each day.

I also have to socialize him to be more responsible in regards to using his claws. My right hand has a lot of small wounds. My subtle technique is to give him a slap on the head whenever he uses claws inappropriately. Not enough to hurt, just enough to send the message, the same technique that a mama cat will use with kittens.

Yeah, he's a cat with some issues, but I guess that's why he ended up with me.

 

[Michelle420]

 

[Michelle420]

 

[Esmeralda]

 

[Esmeralda]

 

[Michelle420]

 

[basquebromance]

 

[Michelle420]

 

[TheGreenHornet]

I had to put my 'Thumper' cat to sleep a couple of weeks ago. The hardest thing I ever had to do. He was so loyal, trusting and quite a companion,he was good company for me especially late at night when I could not sleep-I have insomnia.

I will never get another cat. They die to soon and the bond formed makes it very painful when they pass on. I think of him constantly, everyone loved him-he had such a great personality and was quite humorous in how he would dash around the house. I would take him for walks and people found it amusing that he would follow me around. I never needed a leash for him.

He really changed the way I view animals. I think there is a lot more to them than many realize--their intelligence, memory,and ability to sense your moods are very impressive. He was a himalayan.

Life goes on but will never be the same again without Thumper. I can see him now on the bed watching me as I type this. He would do that every night as I sat on the computer, or when I lay in bed reading he would lay beside me and put his little paws across my stomach. When he wanted attention or to be petted he would make a swiping motion towards you with one of his paws. Oh Lord-how I miss Thumper.

 

[TheGreenHornet]

Ack. Losing my oldest boy. He's just skin and bones, and getting wobbly, and not eating solid food any more. So I'm off to get more human baby food, meat flavors. He'll also accept catmilk and tuna water (the water drained from a can of tuna, with bits of tuna in it). I know how this ends, but I'll keep him going as long as I can, as he appears to still be enjoying life, napping under a bush most of the time.

As for the vet ... not really. I don't do heroic life-extending vet care for old cats. I understand some people feel differently, and that's cool, but it's not my way.

Sounds like what I just went through with my Thumper Cat...kidney failure. I did try giving activated charcoal to get rid of the toxins that kidney failure produces...not expensive...I think it did lessen some of his pain but unfortunately I did not start doing it in time. He got to where he would not eat at all and was rapidly losing weight. There have been studies that show elderly humans with kidney failure who refuse to undergo dialysis show marked improvement when given activated charcoal.

 

[Michelle420]

 

[Michelle420]

 

[basquebromance]

 

[Michelle420]

 

[Michelle420]