Conference misery::feline_v1

    I think the ID tag is a good idea.  Dorking has obviously been charming
    his way into other people's hearts and dinner tables. :^)  
    
    Jo

    Some photos would probably make you feel better.  The id would
    help too.  Maybe his other folks thought he was a starving
    stray, and the id will let them know you're out there.  My
    Sweetie, all 16 pounds of him, does his starving stray immitation
    quite frequently, but for some reason, not convincingly....
    

    
    You hurt my feelings now, saying "his other folks". He hasn't got other
    folks yet, I do so hope.. 

    You are right, he doesn't have other folks, he is just "stringing them
    along!!"  ;^)  What a Don Juan!
    
    Jo

    
    Well if anything goes wrong, beloved Dorking won't be sleeping around
    any more - in fact he won't be sleeping at all  - cuz he'll be dead,
    poor thing. He went to the vet because he was limping longer than usual
    after the last cat fight - and the vet said it was cathritis, aka cat
    arthritis. Seems he's about 6-8 years old (he was a stray so we can't
    say for sure). He also gave him some shots for rabies etc. 
    
    So a few hours after the cat got back from the vet (they kept him
    overnight), he started gasping for breath and wifey took him to
    another vet (because the first was not around, it was Sunday). Vet 2
    said he had a growth on his kidney and wouldn't be long for this world.
    
    Needless to say this was DEVASTATING! Wifey was in tears, and so was I
    - and it wasn't just because cat had cost $380 to date. So anyway vet 2
    did blood test and said was diabetes which enlarged kidney. Maybe shock
    of injections and fact they contained steroids shut down other kidney.
    First vet never checked any of this before doing shots. What do you
    think of that? Should that be normal procedure. if so, we'll take out
    a catlawsuit against vet1, especially if Dorking dies and they're
    guilty of catslaughter because of negligence..
    
    Now the problem is, if we have to give Dorking shots every day, he
    might run to another house, not come back and die! We'll have to get
    him a cattab - but he loses the cattabs - on the collar.
    
    This is a real shame- anyway, I've read the diabetes notes and they
    were helpful.
    

    So sorry to hear about Dorking having diabetes.  With this type of
    disease, it is very important that his food intake be monitored and his
    urine monitored.  For this you may have to let Dorking be king of the
    household and not go outside.  Do you think he could adapt?  It might
    be the only way to keep him going with this disease.
    
    Good luck you and Dorking.
    
    Jo

    
    Thanx but I think he'd be miserable if he had to stay indoors. That's
    not much of a life for a hunting outdoorsie type of a cat
    

    You might find that Dorking does very well indoors.  In general, it
    takes about two weeks for an outdoors cat to adapt to indoor life.
    
    I would also consider, depending on how much confidence you have in the
    vet that diagnosed the kidney problems, taking him to Tufts, for
    example, to get a second opinion on his condition.
    

    
    I got an update from the vet. His sugar is now regular. vet thinks
    maybe manipulating his kidney yesterday caused the release of sugar.
    So far that's 2 vets in 3 days, $380 with another $200 to come, and 
    diagnoses of tumour and imminent death revised to diabetes revised to..
    Are all vets so ready to pronounce the patient dead before his time?
    
    Also vet says cat is depressed. Well what can I do about that? I guess
    the cat is staring off into space all the time - I can understand the
    poor animal being depressed after all this. I guess next step is a
    catshrink. 
    

    I would be depressed to if some vet told me I was a goner!! ;') 
    Really, with all this going on, I bet he just doesn't feel like
    himself.  If the prognosis is good for him not to have diabetes, be
    sure and tell him so that he doesn't waste anymore time being
    depressed. :^)
    
    Jo

    
    Well, Dorking seems fine now after all that. I suspect the injection
    the vet gave him knocked out a kidney for a while - you'd think they'd
    do a test first. Anyway, he seems ok - staying out all night as usual,
    crying for food as soon as you get in, weighed down with groceries. Top
    priority - feed the animal. He seems to eat mounds of food but he isn't
    putting on weight - may not be a good sign. Anyway, we're getting a
    diet from the second vet.
    
    I won't have a house bound cat. I have a very strong feeling that cat
    deserves to live outside, with claws intact. So just so wife doesn't
    get so badly upset if he dies, I'm going to get a second cat, a big
    fat male ginger cat - and I'm going to call him "Farnham" (after
    another town in Surrey, England).
    
    Thanks for all your suggestions, fellow cat lovers.
    
    
    

         Eating mounds of food but not gaining weight (or even losing
    weight) could be diabetes ...
    
    					- Andrea

    
    Yes, but he had a blood test a week ago and it was in the normal range,
    admittedly at the top of it. But I do take your point - thank you. 
    

    Hyperthyroid is another problem that has that symptom, but if he was
    just blood tested a week ago, he is probably just working off whatever
    calories he's taking in.
    
    Jo

    Feeding mounds of food but not putting on any weight is also a sign of
    tape-worm.
    
    Deb

    
    Thnaks, I'd better check with the vet. Vet_1 disagreed with everything
    Vet_2 said of course, and said Dorking was "an old boy" of maybe 12!
    I'm going to go to the cat-catcher and find him his pal, Farnham, very
    shortly, in case he hasn't long for the world. It's a cat's life, but I
    have to admit I'm a bit jealous of a cat's life these days. They don't
    have to go to work at all, very unfair..
    

    I don't consider 12 to be old for a cat.  I'd love to show
    my 14 year old and my 12 year old to people who think that that's
    elderly for a cat.  Mao (12) is the second best jumper in the
    house (second to Angel), very very agile and healthy.  Bumpy (14)
    looks like she's about 7 yrs old.  She's got a beautiful coat and
    plenty of muscle.  
    
    I always worry about "self fulfilling expectations".  That is, if
    you perceive a 12 year old cat as old and at the end of its life
    then you'll treat it that way and maybe not pursue medical problems
    with as much vigor.  Don't just automatically chalk things up to age.
    
    Nancy DC
    

    
    You're right Nancy. We'll start treating him like the young Lochinvar
    he is, albeit with a touch of arthritis. If the bluejays don't exact
    revenge, we'll count of him being a fitting companion for the
    cat-to-be, young Farnham, for many years to come. What a happy thought!
    

    A family I know from high school days has had several of their
    cats live into their 20's.  When I went back in 1988 for my 15
    year reunion I got to see Missy Mitton again.  She was at least
    20 years old then.  She was the mother of most of their other 
    kitties.  I imagine it is too much to hope she'll still be there
    when I go back for my 20th reunion but I'll keep my fingers crossed.
    
    Jan

    Last year while at the Vet's I had a conversation with an elderly
    gentleman in the waiting room.  The cat he had in the carrier looked
    very much like my Stitch.  Anyway, his "little girl" was 24 years old,
    he had lost her daughter the previous year at the age of 20.  He told
    me she was slowing down and developing some problems, but none so far
    that couldn't be managed.  I was amazed when he told me her age - she
    looked like a kitten - her eyes were so bright and full of life.  So
    there's always a chance that a kitty can make it well into their 20's
    these days with lots of TLC and proper care
    
    The memory of this man and his "kitty" will always stay with me.
    
    Giudi

    While it is true that some cats can live to be 20, I still agree that
    12 is getting on in years.  Folks can go to two extremes, assume the
    cat is too old and not treat it, or assume that is it young and healthy
    and not treat it.  When a cat gets to be 12 years old, there are things
    that can start happening that are the result of aging.  These things
    should be watched for.  Yearly checkups are even more important in a
    cat over 12.
    
    Some people live to be 90-100 but we don't expect that everyone will. 
    The same can be said of cats.  You still have to watch out for their
    health.
    
    Jo

    My sisters cat is 12 & he was the healthiest boy you could imagine
    in his youth. As he got older he had to be deprived of his outdoor
    status because he can't defend his own territory anymore. He gets 
    little problems & has to be taken to the vet more often these days.
    
    And as Jo said, there is the other hand, on which I have a friend 
    who has a friend (I've met her) who's kitty just passed away last year
    at the ripe old age of TEWNTY-SIX!! I couldn't believe it when she 
    told me about this (She showed me pix too! She was a white cat w/ one
    blue eye, and one green eye!) I asked her, "What did you feed her?"
    She told me that she fed her regular supermarket food! Go figure!!
    
    Bonnie

    Well, my two are 19 years old.  Mutu, the female, is showing signs of
    aging by sleeping more, her leggings (She's half seal-point and half
    blue-point Siamese) are turning grey and/or fading, and the pads of her
    back paws seem to loose their pigmentation.  She does have a mild case
    of arthritis, but outside of this, is still very kittenish.  Munchkin,
    the male (chocolate-point), is a different story.  He is showing all
    the classic signs of an elderly person who's body shuts down
    system-by-system.  He's been diabetic for the last 5 years (runs in the
    family - his mother and grandmother both were diabetic), and has
    beginning nephritis (kidney disease) which we treat by giving him 
    lactated ringer's solution in an IV twice weekly, and has arthritis for
    which he takes medicine.  In addition, he's lost some teeth (latest was
    a canine which was removed because of a gum infection).
    
    I guess what I'm saying is that, like us, it depends on the cat.  Since
    Munch is from a line my mother-in-law started over 30 years ago, we
    know the problems he's inherited.  Mutu was bought as a kitten, so we
    don't know her genes, but on the whole is a much healthier cat.
    
    Whatever the age when your pet dies, remember that he/she had a
    wonderful life, was taken care of better than some humans, was loved to
    death, and we couldn't imagine our life without them!