Posted on 07/20/2006 11:51:19 AM PDT by freedumb2003
My kittie "Musica" is 24 years old. Up until now, she has done well but the vet says her thyroid is failing.
She has been with me for almost my entire adult life. She has been on thyroid (and other) medication for the last 6 years but it looks like the medication isn't working any more.
The vet said radiation therapy might work but 24 equates to over a hundred years old in human terms. It would be torture to put her through that. Even a trip to the vet is an ordeal.
The vet is great -- he makes it a point to see her personally and calls her his "miracle kitty." He is sure Musica is his oldest client of any type of animal (I assume he doesn't have sea turtles on his clientele list).
FWIIW, Musica has alwas been 100% indoors -- I think that makes a big difference. Of course, she has always been ornrey and egocentric. I think giving in and letting the cat knows she IS the center of the universe helps a lot, too ;)
Good luck, from an east coast cat owner.
Do cats really sleep after every meal?
I have no idea but mine have tended to sleep more as they have gotten older.
Thank you for that - I've been needing some prayers myself these days.
Your cat looks like she's got one of those bellies of "infinite squishableness".
The little white patch is adorable, too. Our first family cat was one of those grey/brown tiger stripey cats. I've always had a soft spot for them since. Mandy's a beauty.
Beautiful kitties! Molly is so expressive
She's a stinker :)
Last night, she was having herself a major pout/whine fest because her brother infringed on her territory when I was about to pet her. She and I went into the bathroom and shut the door until she could calm down. I then patted the toilet seat lid (which is usually a place she loves to sit and get pets) and asked her to come over. She just looked at me like "I'm happy now, but I own you, you don't own me". So I pretended like I was crying. The eyes that were kinda half shut suddenly opened big and wide. She immediately got up and jumped up on the toilet lid like I wanted her to. She didn't want to see me sad. I love that little girl :)
My understanding is that most do. At the very least, they're more lethargic for a while after eating.
Man, I wish I could help. I'm sure my girls would get used to him eventually. But you live so far away!!! I wish you could just get him a kitty friend - I'm sure it would solve the problem!! Well, hopefully someone down your way will be able to take him.
I try to always feed my cats just before I konk off myself. That way I know they will not hassle me too much early in the morning looking for their next feed. They still hassle me, but wait a little longer before doing it. The picture of kitty paws up and belly exposed is what my black kitty does all the time (she's about 6 years old now). Always on her back. Been thinking I could make some money off her if I put a red light out as she's always on her back. But then who'd want 200 caterwauling males outside one's door? Something tells me they wouldn't exactly be paying customers.
So glad to hear Musica's thyroid meds kicked in and she's now doing well. Wonderful news, and I know the relief you are feeling. My oldest cat is now 18 years, so I know where you are coming from. We cherish each day now with our older kitties.
We're adding a fourth cat to our menagerie this weekend, so I know I'm in for a lot of grief and hurt looks from the 'kids'.
The three torties I have now are 100% indoors. All were more or less rescues, but only one came to me as a kitten (she's now 5 years old). The oldest is nine years old. The youngest is a little over 1 year, and was trapped as a feral.
I recently made the decision to go with a fairly expensive brand of cat food, Innova Evo, in the hope of keeping them healthy longer and keeping expensive vet visits to a minimum. It's a dry food, but it's grain-free and low-carbohydrate (which sounded like a good idea to me because cats are carnivores). I also give them other goodies, such as fresh meat, good canned food, fresh butter, and yogurt, once in a while.
They absolutely love sprawling on our porch, which has sliding glass doors and screens. I know they would love outside adventures, but (1) the landlady doesn't like cats running around and messing up her careful yard work, and (2) I know that letting them outdoors shortens their life expectancy.
My first tortie, back in the early 1990s, only lived about 2-1/2 years because she refused to stay indoors, even after being spayed. I took her with me to TN for a year, and she did fine, running around outside, under the house, etc.
Then, a few months after I came back to CA, she literally just ran under the wheels of a car one night (I was away at a friend's place for Thanksgiving dinner). My roommates told me about it the next day. The ironic thing is, the street where I lived in TN was a lot busier, in terms of vehicle traffic, than the street I lived on later in CA. I was heartbroken... and I also fell in love with torties while I had her.
Wonderful news about Musica!! You all were in my prayers!!
Thanks paulat -- after I heard Musica was better I "sagged" and didn't get back to you.
But I am still a little concerned -- the Vet says we can't up the medication level again.
I know I will be re-pinging this thread again someday. Just not "soon" if our prayers are answered.
24 -- almost 25 years old. Like I posted earlier, Musica has been with me from my 20s to my 40s. Pretty astounding. Neysa (her sister) hung in there for 18 or 19 years. Also pretty astounding.
My blessings have been manifold: Neysa who stayed with me so long, Musica -- who is tougher than nails, and a wonderful wife I don't deserve (please, PLEASE don't ask me to sequence them!); ).
And a small number of good FRiends who help keep it all together.
Musica sends her regards (in that she gave me "the paw" like you can see on my profile).
I posted "The Rainbow Bridge" for someone tonight. It is a gift we can forward.
Thanks
Oh, sweetie...when we post to threads with probs...we don't expect a response. We know people are going through a difficult time.
I think most of us just want to express support. We don't need anything back.
But we do like the updates!
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