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Post by erzulie on Jul 11, 2006 14:02:47 GMT -5
Well, some of you may already know I have a wonderful cat named Beau that my life pretty much revolves around. He's about to turn 15 and he's lost a lot of weight over the past year (he's waay underweight now) so I took him to the vet this morning to get bloodwork done. The vet thinks he probably has hyperthyroidism, although that may not be the only thing even if that is the probably. Personally I hope that is all it is, because that can be treated (if my cat will let me treat it...) whereas some other potential problems would be either untreatable or very difficult to treat (difficult to treat in most cats usually means impossible to treat in Beau, but that's another story). The vet is supposed to call me tomorrow with the results, and I'm going to be on edge until then. It could be that I'll get good news, that he has a treatable condition and he'll be able to get his weight back and continue to be healthy for a few more years. It could also be very bad news. He could have somehting very serious and irreversable, like kidney failure, which would mean I won't have him much longer. It could be news anywhere between those two extremes. Any of you who have pets probably understand how I feel. I just felt like venting my nervousness--I'll post again with the results. Hopefully it'll be good news!
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Post by ouchy on Jul 11, 2006 14:04:45 GMT -5
Hi, erzulie. I actually just e-mailed you to see if today was the day. I hope everything goes well and that his condition is something easily treatable! Best wishes!
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Post by erzulie on Jul 12, 2006 21:32:43 GMT -5
Well, the vet called back this afternoon and the only problem they found was hyperthyroidism. I've got some pills to give him (there are other options if these don't work out) and I'm going to take him back in two weeks to get more blood taken to see if the pills are working. As I mentioned medicating Beau is always a challenge, but I got the first pill down him tonight with no trouble! The pills are very small, so I just smashed it into a fine powder and mixed it in with his favorite cat food. Since the pill was so small and since he gobbled the food so fast (his favorite food is Newman's Own organic cat food, which is expensive, so he doesn't get it every day) he never noticed there was any medicine in there. With any luck I'll be able to keep sneaking the pills in his food, and hopefully we'll find out the medicine is working when we go back! I hope he'll start putting weight back on soon, he's so bony. He's about four pounds underweight which is a lot for a cat. The goal is to get him up to about 12 pounds. The vet also said he'll check his kidney function when I bring him back. It checked out fine this time but he said sometimes thyroid problems mask kidney problems so he just wants to check again. I sure hope he doesn't have any kidney problems!!! Right now I'm just trying to focus on getting his medicine into him and waiting to see if that will work.
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louise
Junior Member
looby lou baby susprise
Posts: 70
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Post by louise on Jul 13, 2006 17:24:25 GMT -5
hi erzulie, i have a cat and a proper tom cat he is, he has mood swings and a very expseive taste in food, he likes a different menu every day so we have to give him the selection, if we dont he brings me and my partner lovely gifts, so far we have had 3 mice, 2 chicks and a bird, he likes to bring them in alive and play with them, not to mention waking us up in the middle of the night to show us our presents, his other trick is sitting on my head while im asleep, he's took awhile for me to get used to him as i had a dog before but he can be so cute, his name is beanie and he's ginger like my partner, well they do say pets are like there owers, only my partner hasn't the habit of bringing me such creative presents. loux
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Post by erzulie on Jul 13, 2006 21:03:40 GMT -5
My cat is an indoor cat, other than going in the backyard under supervision, so he hasn't had much chance to catch things but I know if he could he'd be bringing them to me! When crickets get in the house he catches them and leaves them in my bedroom while I'm sleeping, and one time he caught a mouse and left it by my bedroom door so I could find it when I woke up. Fortunately he doesn't wake me up to show me these things or put them in my bed as some cats do, but I still appreciate the gesture. He also knows what time I'm supposed to get up in the morning to go to work and wakes me up at that time even on weekends. He used to wake me up and then lead me downstairs to get breakfast. He would actually lead me to the cabinet to get cereal and then lead me to the fridge to get milk, then lead me to the table. He still goes downstairs with me in the morning but he seems confident now that I've figured out where everything is, so he doesn't lead me to all those places anymore.
So far I've managed to sneak three pills into him. I hope I continue having this much luck! Before when he's needed to take medicine because he was sick with a bad cold or something, the hiding-the-pill-in-the-food trick never worked. This pill is much smaller than most though, so I guess once I've crunched it up and mixed it in he really can't taste it. My only fear is that he's not licking up every tiny crumb. When I take him back the week after next I will ask the vet about another kind of medicine he told me about that you rub on the inside of the cat's ear. it might be easier to insure he gets the proper amount if I give it to him that way, although if the blood tests show he's doing fine with the pill I guess I'll stick with it. Anyway thanks for your reply Louise, it's good to see that there are other cat lovers on the board!
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Post by ouchy on Jul 15, 2006 23:45:49 GMT -5
meeeeowwww! how is the kitty doing?
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Post by erzulie on Jul 16, 2006 10:57:28 GMT -5
He's still doing fine. The vet didn't say how soon he might start putting on weight, but since it's been less than a week since he's been on the medicine it's no surprise that I haven't noticed a difference yet. He's still taking it without a clue which is the important thing. I should note that he's been feeling fine all along, so the weight gain is really the only clue I'm going to have if the medicine is making him better. Not only doesn't he know he's taking medicine, he doesn't have any idea that he's been sick!
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Post by ouchy on Jul 16, 2006 11:15:06 GMT -5
Well, at least he doesn't know he's been suffering all this time!!! Poor kitty
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meka
Full Member
Posts: 164
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Post by meka on Jul 23, 2006 22:38:50 GMT -5
You're all sooo lucky to have a pet! I grew up with pets, cats and dogs, until the day I moved away to college. I haven't had any pets since (rental apartment rules and regulations!!) and I miss the companionship.
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Post by erzulie on Jul 24, 2006 11:16:17 GMT -5
Hopefully one day soon you can have pets again! I've never not had pets, so I can't imagine living without them. Every day I feel lucky for having my cat. Tomorrow morning he goes back to get his thyroid rechecked, so I'm hoping for good results. I think the medicine is helping. I weighed him this morning and he was 10 pounds--that means he's gained 2 pounds! The vet said his ideal weight would be 12 pounds so he just needs to gain two more. I've been giving him kitten food to try to help with the process, since it's higher in calories and thyroid disease means he processes calories too fast. Once he hits the desired 12 pounds I'll have to take him back off the kitten food so he doesn't get fat! I hope he does keep gaining, it would be so nice to see my cat nice and healthy again! Also, the day after tomorrow is his 15th birthday!
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Post by ouchy on Jul 24, 2006 13:52:04 GMT -5
15!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Holy cow/cat!!!
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Post by erzulie on Jul 25, 2006 17:50:53 GMT -5
I just got a call from the vet about the bloodwork Beau had done this morning, and he's doing really well! The vet said the upper limit for normal with thyroid function is 4.0 (whatever that means) and that before he started the medicine, Beau's levels were 13.5 (yikes!). Now, his level is 1.0, which is a tiny bit low but not low enough to be worried about. he said it was actually really good. He's gained a pound and a quarter, which is also good. He checked his kidney function as well and said it's fine. I was so happy to hear that!!!! I'm so glad I got him on the medicine and that he's taking it and that it's working! I can't wait till he's back to his regular size, it's been so sad that he's been all bony lately. I'm sure he'll feel better too because he won't be so hungry and thirsty.
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Post by ouchy on Jul 25, 2006 17:59:17 GMT -5
Yayyyyyy for Beau!!!!!
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Post by Hillary on Jul 30, 2006 13:41:55 GMT -5
I just read all the history,
I am sooo very glad your cat is doing good!, I have a cat black cat kinda like yours, she is 1/2 simese, she likes to talk alot, never lets me forget anything. she is 16 years old and I have had her 8 years, she is my best friend and the thought of ever not having her is pretty scary,
Yay, Beau!!!
Have you been giving her lots of treats?!
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Post by erzulie on Jul 30, 2006 15:29:53 GMT -5
Beau is also part Siamese, and he talks constantly! He has recently been doing it quite loudly every night at 4 am, I'm gonna have to put a stop to that somehow... he does get his share of treats, though I'm sure he'd appreciate your concern I recently found a recipe for tuna cat treats in Cat Fancy magazine. I'd never made cat treats before so I dedided to try it for Beau's birthday. Although the recipe was simple it took me a long time to make them because I had to cut the dough in such little bits and then...Beau wasn't interested at all! I tried them on my mom's cat and he wouldn't touch them either. So I wasted all that time!!! Oh well, at least I know what doesn't work. Cats are so unpredictable.
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