| T.R | Title | User | Personal
Name | Date | Lines |
|---|
| 3815.1 | My feelings | WR2FOR::CORDESBRO_JO | set home/cat_max=infinity | Mon Jul 23 1990 16:15 | 34 |
| Where in California?
I wish I knew how to extract, cause I know that I won't remember
all of your questions.
About vaccinations, I would not do all three at once. Vaccines
give a punch to the immune system, and to do all three at once would
stress the immune system very hard. Talk to your vet about this
and see what he thinks. If it were my cat, indoor only, 15 years
old and not exposed to any outdoor cats, I would stop giving rabies
and Leukemia. DO NOT STOP WITH THE UPPER RESPIRATORY VACCINES.
She will need those to help keep her from catching those nasty upper
respiratory infections. What might cause a little cold in young
cat could cause serious illness in an older cat.
I would also not have her teeth cleaned again unless/until she had
life threatening gum disease. The kidneys and liver are the organs
of a cat that usually start to show aging first, and those organs
are needed to rid the body of anesthesia after surgery.
Generally, I would probably take her in once a year for a blood
panel to keep an eye on her kidney/liver function. I would also
monitor her weight on a regular basis (like weigh her once a month
and write the weight in her health record so that you will notice
even a gradual decline).
As long as her kidney/liver function is good, and her weight is
remaining constant, there is no need to switch her diet. If she
needs a special diet due to health needs, the vet will tell you.
I think I covered some of your concerns, probably not all.
Jo (also from California)
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| 3815.2 | | CIRCUS::KOLLING | Karen/Sweetie/Holly/Little Bit Ca. | Mon Jul 23 1990 16:42 | 14 |
| I would depend on your vet's advice about the teeth, assuming you trust
the vet. S/he can weight the condition of hte teeth and gums against
her general health. I would also ask his advice about shots. A
lot depends on the condition of the cat.
How lucky you are to have a healthy happy puss. Some pusses live into
their twenties, I think I even heard of one reaching 30 once.
Mine go in to the vet about every six months (S and LB need a
respiratory
booster that often since Holly carries a respiratory infection.) Even if
they didn't I would take a senior cat in that often. Kidney disease
and so on has to be caught early.
|
| 3815.3 | | CIRCUS::KOLLING | Karen/Sweetie/Holly/Little Bit Ca. | Mon Jul 23 1990 16:45 | 5 |
| The only other thing I can think of is that if Sasha develops a
problem in jumping (arthritis, etc.) you could put "waystations"
near her favorite places so she can reach them. Like a stool, or
something of the sort.
|
| 3815.4 | some more | PARITY::DENISE | And may the traffic be with you | Tue Jul 24 1990 16:40 | 22 |
| My beloved Ruby, the Coon cat died 3 weeks short of his 19th
birthday. Why, because he got FELV. That was because I stopped
getting the shots for him, I figured he was indoor, so why would he
need them. But one of my other cats somehow got it. How, we'll never
know. Ruby was the most energetic, strong, frisky, youthful 18 year
old you ever saw. He probably would have been one of those that lived
to be 30. He still played like a kitten, and was so full of
kitty-love. Life is not the same without him. So, be sure to get the
shots, you just never know.
As far as teeth cleaning, my vet was very hesitant to put him under
for any reason, due to his age. We stopped the professional cleanings
when he was 16.
Also, be on the lookout for an older cat drinking access water. That
is usually a sign of failing kidneys, very common in older cats.
My Ruby used to eat a lot right up till his weeks until the FELV really
made him sick. His usual breakfast was 3 cans of FAncy Feast.
I imagine any change in a cat's usual dining habits could indicate a
problem also.
Good luck, hope your kitty breaks the age record!
Denise
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| 3815.5 | | CIRCUS::KOLLING | Karen/Sweetie/Holly/Little Bit Ca. | Tue Jul 24 1990 17:28 | 2 |
| I'm very sorry about Ruby.
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| 3815.6 | | ICS::GERRY | Home is where the Cat is | Thu Jul 26 1990 09:39 | 10 |
| Denise,
Nobody really knows for sure if FelV can be prevented by having the
FelV shots, so please don't blame yourself for not getting him the
shots.
I'm very sorry about Ruby.
cin
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| 3815.7 | me too | AIMHI::MCCURDY | | Thu Jul 26 1990 12:44 | 2 |
| Denise I amvery sorry to hear about Ruby....
Kate
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| 3815.8 | Various levels of anethesia | WR1FOR::BROMARTH | It's no tribble at all! | Fri Aug 10 1990 01:33 | 30 |
| Lori,
Are you comming to our West Coast Feliner's Party?
I had an orange tabby cat, George, who lived 14 years. He came down
gradually with kidney failure. We first noticed it when we had his
teeth cleaned by a "cheap" vet who did not take a blood sample to
determine his tolerance to being put under with anethesia.
Well, we found out that the anethesia used was intolerable to his kidney
system. When George didn't come out of a daze after a day or so,
we took him to another vet, who did the proper blood tests, and put
him on a "dialysis" machine to filter his blood for him. This revived
him.
Be aware that for older cats, with regards to teeth cleaning, a
good vet will tell you whether it is or is not wise to administer
anethesia. Also, there happens to be a least three levels of anethesia
that can be administered depending on what the blood tests (done
before hand) reveal.
For example, there's the traditional drug administered with a shot
in the arm (or where ever) whose effects last at least a day. Or, there
are other kinds, that require timed injections, but at least the
vet can monitor how the cat is doing inbetween injections. Finally,
there's the type that is administered via an air tube. If the cat
starts to become adversely affected, the vet can choose to discontinue
treatment IMMEDIATELY.
Theresa (who needed three new cats to replace the one and only George)
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