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How our cat is doing
Boopsie, our kitty, is old. She's sixteen, maybe seventeen. That's a pretty respectable age for a cat, and it's starting to show.
She's having somewhat dodgy kidney function, and her thyroid isn't great. These are fairly typical for a cat her age -- and they're among the things which kill old cats. I mean, if a cat dies of old age, kidney, thyroid, and cancer are all pretty good guesses of what caused the "dying of old age".
That said, she's in pretty good shape in most ways. She is alert and interested in the world -- this may be a side effect of the hyperthyroidism; she's definitely entering her second kittenhood. For the past seven years, Boopsie was either uninterested in or scared of the downstairs (we're a second-floor apartment that shares a first-floor foyer with the downstairs apartment -- it's not hard to describe how it's set up, but it would take time. We're an old Victorian which has been split into apartments). And now she's downstairs every time the door opens. So it's definitely a behavior change, although not really a personality change. She's still the same Boopsie, but she's more energetic and adventurous than she has been in years.
She's also pissing inappropriately pretty much all the time. I don't really know what to do about that -- we just make sure that anything we don't want pissed on is off the floor, and we put a tarp over the bed.
But the worrisome thing is how much weight she's lost. And why.
She's not been eating. And for anyone who knows her, this is truly disturbing. She's normally a glutton; she once weighed sixteen pounds. Now she weighs seven.
Ten pounds would be a healthy weight for her.
So I've been trying to get and keep her weight up. Part of it is trying to figure out WHY she's not eating. And the main thing I've been doing is trying to figure out how to get food into her.
She's pretty much entirely on people food now, because she's more likely to eat it. And I finally found something that she'll eat pretty much reliably.
My chicken soup. Yeah, she's definitely related to Lis.
I defrosted some of the chicken soup from the last batch I made, to try this out. I'd been suspecting dental problems, and wondering if she just didn't want to chew. And she has been drinking a lot of water, so I knew that she COULD drink.
So why not chicken soup? It's a clear broth version, and it's got protein and calories and stuff, and it's liquid. I know that alliums aren't great for cats, but my recipe pretty light on onion, like, one onion boiled in five gallons of soup (twenty liters).
And she'll eat it. So, between that and Oscar Myer "Oven Roasted" Low-Sodium Sliced Deli-Cuts Turkey Breast, I'm getting and keeping her weight up. But it's a challenge.
Boopsie is coming to the end of her life. I'm hoping that she'll be around for another three years, but I don't really think she will. I love that cat, and will do what I can to keep her healthy, and comfortable, and happy as long as I can.
And seventeen years -- seventeen happy years -- is a good life for a cat.
'Course, twenty would be better.
She's having somewhat dodgy kidney function, and her thyroid isn't great. These are fairly typical for a cat her age -- and they're among the things which kill old cats. I mean, if a cat dies of old age, kidney, thyroid, and cancer are all pretty good guesses of what caused the "dying of old age".
That said, she's in pretty good shape in most ways. She is alert and interested in the world -- this may be a side effect of the hyperthyroidism; she's definitely entering her second kittenhood. For the past seven years, Boopsie was either uninterested in or scared of the downstairs (we're a second-floor apartment that shares a first-floor foyer with the downstairs apartment -- it's not hard to describe how it's set up, but it would take time. We're an old Victorian which has been split into apartments). And now she's downstairs every time the door opens. So it's definitely a behavior change, although not really a personality change. She's still the same Boopsie, but she's more energetic and adventurous than she has been in years.
She's also pissing inappropriately pretty much all the time. I don't really know what to do about that -- we just make sure that anything we don't want pissed on is off the floor, and we put a tarp over the bed.
But the worrisome thing is how much weight she's lost. And why.
She's not been eating. And for anyone who knows her, this is truly disturbing. She's normally a glutton; she once weighed sixteen pounds. Now she weighs seven.
Ten pounds would be a healthy weight for her.
So I've been trying to get and keep her weight up. Part of it is trying to figure out WHY she's not eating. And the main thing I've been doing is trying to figure out how to get food into her.
She's pretty much entirely on people food now, because she's more likely to eat it. And I finally found something that she'll eat pretty much reliably.
My chicken soup. Yeah, she's definitely related to Lis.
I defrosted some of the chicken soup from the last batch I made, to try this out. I'd been suspecting dental problems, and wondering if she just didn't want to chew. And she has been drinking a lot of water, so I knew that she COULD drink.
So why not chicken soup? It's a clear broth version, and it's got protein and calories and stuff, and it's liquid. I know that alliums aren't great for cats, but my recipe pretty light on onion, like, one onion boiled in five gallons of soup (twenty liters).
And she'll eat it. So, between that and Oscar Myer "Oven Roasted" Low-Sodium Sliced Deli-Cuts Turkey Breast, I'm getting and keeping her weight up. But it's a challenge.
Boopsie is coming to the end of her life. I'm hoping that she'll be around for another three years, but I don't really think she will. I love that cat, and will do what I can to keep her healthy, and comfortable, and happy as long as I can.
And seventeen years -- seventeen happy years -- is a good life for a cat.
'Course, twenty would be better.
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she's lucky to have two humans like you.
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She also would eat Trader Joe's Tuna for Cats. It's so high protein though -- far too much for an old kitty. Mixed with mayo worked pretty well, though.
Between the broth and the mayo+tuna, she lasted a year longer than I expected. Good luck with Boopsie!
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If she's not medicated for hyperthyroidism or the kidney disease, it could be that putting her off her food. (Nebu was/is hypertensive, too, but I don't think that was the problem.) If she *is* medicated, same thing.
I don't know how you feel about it, but he'd eat raw ground turkey even when he was completely off almost everything else. Also boiled egg yolk. We got organic and stuff. I know people do this whole raw food thing, with added tyrosine in measured doses. If you can tolerate the complication, you might try that.
Another thing is, he's not picking up the squish food as well as he used to, and it helps if we a) put it on a flatter dish and make sure it's somewhat liquidy (a smidge of warm water, and mashed fine), so he can lick it and it doesn't roll away from him or get in corners he can't reach, or b) occasionally give it to him out of our hands. :-p I don't much care for the sensation of kittylicking between my fingers, but eh. He's gained a pound. Hmmm. Lessee. If he's not eating his prescription squish, sometimes he can be tempted by the tiniest, tiniest smidge of highly aromatic cheese (like queso cotija or parmesan) -- he throws up if he has dairy, but a whiff of it doesn't seem to hurt. There's also cat milk, with reduced lactose.
Whatever you can get down her, yeah. Too much salt could throw her electrolytes out of whack, though. Maybe get a blood test for potassium levels and and? Experiment with food textures?
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(Anonymous) 2007-03-22 08:41 am (UTC)(link)When our guys were suffering from similar issues and not eating well we
used baby foor to get some of their meds into them (crushed and mixed in).
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He also said garlic & leeks were OK.
I think it's the level of salic (sp?) acid.
N.
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As far as protein goes, yes, it's not great for the kidneys, but some vets think that the most important thing is to keep the cat eating, even if that means feeding high-protein foods.
I can't remember: has Boopsie been checked for diabetes?
Lastly, the thing I hope wrong (i.e., isn't the problem)... This could be the beginning of an adverse reaction to the thyroid-suppressing medication. If it is, it's important to figure that out quickly because it tends to become something of a juggernaut if not dealt with fairly promptly. The concern would be liver or bone marrow damage. You might talk this over with your vet, or maybe a couple of vets, to get a broader view. I don't know your vet at all, but some are reluctant to consider this possibility. This often is either because they don't like the alternatives to medication or because they don't do thyroid surgery themselves, and don't know anyone to whom they'd feel comfortable referring you. I've had cats older than Boopsie have the surgery with great success, but if you go that route, you want to do it before she's too weakened by weight loss.
Passing thought: Have you tried adding a little catnip to Boopsie's food?
I really admire the love, patience, and skill with which you and Lis care for Boopsie. She's a very lucky kitty to have you, and we're all lucky to have the privilege of loving such a special lady. Hugs to you all, and please let me know if there's anything I can do to help out.
(Edited to clarify the use of the word "wrong".)
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(Anonymous) 2007-03-22 12:19 pm (UTC)(link)no subject
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Incidentally, Boopsie might find the soup easier to eat if you let it gel in the fridge for a little while.
Best of luck to you, Lis, and Boopsie.
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Have you tried her with any gefilte fish gel/broth?
I'll gladly eat the fish and you can give her the goo...
Baby food, mushy rice and meat
When Jasmine used to need her medication, we did baby food at first. But within a week she tasted the meds once when it wasn't mixed up enough, and refused baby food overall.
For a while we fed her shredded chicken, mushy rice, and kitty vitamins all mashed up. We'd make a small tupperware full and dole it out as a treat (gently warmed, of course) a couple times a day.
The other obvious one about eating is to check her teeth. Our siamese have had serious issues, and Lucas has few teeth left. If she's either lost teeth, or if her teeth are bothering her, that may well account for part of her lack of solid food appetite. Although it's late in life for you all, working with the vet (possibly to extract any teeth that are painful) and brushing her teeth might be an idea. Yes, Virginia, they make toothbrushes for cats - usually a soft fingertip brush - and toothpaste, which is usually quite a treat for them.
G'luck! I'm definitely laughing over the cat eating homemade chicken soup and gefilte fish.
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My maths tutor, back when I was young, had a 21-year-old cat. He was very lean and arthritic - he used to sit in the washing-up water to ease his bones a bit. Stuart ended up using a big plastic basin and filling it with hot water from time to time so the cat could sit in there... Also, if you had a nice radiant heater or woodfire going, he would get very close to the fire...
The soup thing worked well for him, too. He lasted for years on that skinny frame, though - I guess it's just like old humans; keep your puss happy, that's about the best encouragement I can give you. And here's proof that they can live to a ripe old age!
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