Sendhelp Posted March 2017
Caregiver's cats behaving badly.
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Does your Cat (or any pet) misbehave since caregiving your loved one?
Have you been required to take care of your loved one's pet after they have passed? Does your pet have cute antics that entertain your loved one?
And finally, has the cat or dog transferred their loyalty to your Mother?
I think Divo's problem isn't just because he never grooms himself. I think he has skin issues. His fur gets extremely oily and full of skin flakes. Brushing only gets the top layers of fur while the matting and clumps are happening underneath. He's been to the vet multiple times though, and there's never been any recommendation to adjust anything related to skin and fur care. I'm going to take him in and discuss those things and see what input I can get. I need a cat dermatologist for this one!
I will do more baths and brushing in the future and maybe even have him shaved short again, if vet recommends, and start over with a proactive skin care plan. He's always had this very oily, flaky skin and I haven't known how to care for it.
Thanks for the tip about witch hazel, ITRR.
My friend thought his name was Old Man Cat because that's what I call him when I talk about him. lol Didn't realize the nickname came off as his name. He reminds me of a bossy, opinionated, demanding old guy... in a very cute cat way. :-)
You will see results within the first day, seriously this stuff is amazing.
I had a vet tell me about it because I was getting fed up with the 150.00 for a 1oz tube for treating a skin condition that wouldn't clear up. Within a week it was better, within a month it was gone, never to return. After a year and a couple grand on western medicine i spent less than 5.00 to clear the problem up.
Best of luck getting this dealt with.
I bathed Divo, my 22yo. I found several things of concern. One infected spot hiding under his fur really sent me into a tizzy earlier. I called my vet but they are closed today, so I sent them an email with pics and I'm sure they'll respond asap. I was so concerned that he may need emergency treatment that I subscribed to an online vet consultation service and asked for input. That wasn't so helpful because all they said was, "Looks bad, could be bacterial; go to your vet." No kidding. :-/
I suspect it's fungal in origin after comparing pics online. I need pro input on how to prevent this going forward. My other cat doesn't have any of these issues. During a vet trip a few months ago, the vet didn't say anything about how Divo's fur is very oily and gets matted, how his skin flakes, nothing about skin concerns... so I thought it could be normal for an older cat.
Welp. I was/am upset. I will be much more proactive in the future about cleaning poor Old Man Cat. He hated the bath, it was traumatic for both of us lol, but he seemed fine afterwards and the spots aren't painful for him. I've been cleaning his spots and putting anti-fungal cream on several times today and I'll be taking him to vet asap. I will ask how to care for him better and prevent this.
My "elder cat care" is starting to resemble elder human care more -- with new issues to consider -- all the time. :-) I don't mind, I just need to know what to do.
I too have a cat called Merlin, a lovely intelligent black cat who is now 14 so getting on a bit. He’s just been diagnosed with Inflammatory Bowel Disease so is now on a special diet. I also have a tubby tabby called Arthur. He is very clingy so frequently drapes himself around my neck whenever I sit down. Watching TV is like wearing a big thick scarf indoors and I have to peer over the top of him to see the TV screen. It’s quite obvious who is in control in our house!
Merlin is a cute name for a cat who magically appears. I know someone who named a kitty, ‘Extra’ when he showed up one day. She already had a couple of cats, so this one was the extra one! LOL
I would say that I have the same outlook on caring for an animal as you.
It does help to have a good vet. Our vet is a long time friend. His children and our children attended the same school, in the same classes, etc. They were always at our home or we were at their home. We live in the same neighborhood and attend the same church.
Even when our youngest daughter went off to college in another city, she drove back home to see our vet with her little poodle that she rescued. Her dog had Cushing’s disease in his older years. She was so torn as to what to do. He took meds but did not respond well to them.
I absolutely loved what our vet said to our daughter when she was questioning treatment. He told her that he had a patient come in and scream, “I hate my dog! Just euthanize him now! I can’t keep cleaning up accidents all day long!”
He told my daughter that her dog was very old. She loved him so much and he knew without a doubt that this woman didn’t ‘hate her dog.’ She had been a great with her dog. She was merely exasperated with the situation and was upset about having to put her dog down.
Anyway, he told my daughter, “Your dog is very old. He has an incurable disease. You have been wonderful with him. Don’t wait until you are so frustrated that you feel as if you hate him.” That advice really helped my daughter to make the decision to put him down. Poor little guy was starting to have accidents all day long too.
I get sad when I think about all the greyhounds that were euthanized before the adoption groups found homes. We had a wonderful grey that we adopted from, Greyhound Pets of America. That dog stole my heart! He lived until 13 years of age. He LOVED my mom. She loved him. She used to say that they understood each other because they were growing old together. They did have a very strong bond.
He was so smart! Mom said that he could tell time, hahaha. because he would stand in our foyer everyday, just before my daughter would arrive home from school, just waiting for her to play with him. It was the sweetest thing.
But, if I ever felt that their quality of life was being compromised I would do the right thing, however hard that would be. I've seen people taking animals in to the vet where the animal looked like it was on it's last legs. I know it's difficult but in the end doing what is best for your pet is important.
Our vet (I've been taking animals to him for 20+ years) hypothesized from a scan that this was a tumor, not in a place where it could be needle biopsied. He would have had to have major abdominal surgery and that just seemed...cruel.
When I was a kid, our Collie got hit by a car on Christmas Eve. We were pretty poor and my dad hauled Lucky into the vet and said "Doc, do what you can...for $25.00".
The dog survived with conservative treatment.
I try hard to tread the path between not causing unnecessary suffering and not doing stuff on the cheap.
So very sorry for the loss of your precious Merlin, Barb.
[[[[[Hugs]]]]]
Old man cat seems fine most days but he struggles with his footing sometimes. I just try to care for him best I know how. Sometimes I feel under-informed of how to take of such an elderly cat but he seems happy enough from day to day.
Golden, I am concerned about weight loss, especially since I've added laxatives to his daily meals. It's a very small amount and vet recommended it and I can see it makes him more comfortable. He will always lick up any gravy even if he doesn't each much food, so finding a way to get more food into him seems important. He likes the different wet food; he just doesn't eat more than a couple bites at a time. I bought the cat broth because it was inexpensive to try, but I'll get him some cat gravy and see how that goes.
Old man cat has always been very skinny and his previous mom said he's always been like this, not to worry. But... I still do. lol He looks skinnier past few months to me. I may have to get a digital scale so I can see what's happening.
A long long time ago our vet suggested the same for our German Shepherd. It was so hard! She was my best friend... But vet said trying to cure her at that stage was just make her agony longer. Our pets absolutely become members of our family.
I am so sorry for the loss of your kitty. They become a part of our family and are missed when they die.
I love my vet too. He handed me the entire box of tissue when I started to cry. My cat was 16. I loved her so much.
I told my vet, “She’s such a wonderful cat and loved us as much as we loved her. I will miss her curling up next to me.”
My vet replied, “She has been a great cat. I know how much you love her and how she loved you. You are showing her your love now by not allowing her to suffer.”
I have a very compassionate vet who has always given me the best advice about when to treat, when to watch and when an animal's quality of life is no longer sustainable. I am always grateful for his guidance.
Poor old man cat. I think mats are uncomfortable for them. I have never bathed a cat. When we got Rocky she was covered in mats. She was essentially a feral cat on the farm. We cut the mats out and she really appreciated it. Both Pumpkin and Rocky got a few mats in the fall and more this spring. Rocky has a very thick undercoat and she gets more mats. She seems to have learned that I need her to be quiet when I am cutting mats out and is very good about it. Pumpkin, on the other hand, I have to "trick" by playing with that part of her coat a few times to get her comfortable and after a few aborted tries I have been successful i snipping the mats out. I use blunt ended scissors.
Had to laugh. The last grocery order brought purple potatoes instead of Japanese sweet potatoes, I boiled some and mixed some mashed in their food as usual. Pumpkin ate the lot. Rocky managed to eat the cat food and leave the mashed purple potato behind. She is particular!!!
Good luck with the bath!
I still want to come up with a gravy topper that encourages him to eat more of his food. He's a really picky eater more and more. I wondered about using regular gravy mixes from grocery stores and whether that would be ok for his cat systems. I could thin them out. I could try one and see how he reacts. Seems that onion is something you want to avoid feeding cats, so I would check the ingredients first. Is this a crazy idea or a "hm, you could try it and see" idea..? I'm not sure.
He really likes gravy so if I can find some he likes and put it with his wet food, I'm hoping he'll eat more than his usual few bites.
He's getting a bath at home very soon, too. I have a lavender dandruff cat shampoo that I ordered for him and it will take at least two baths to get him cleaned up. I've been planning it out: use a plastic basin that he can stand in and hopefully I can contain him in, too. If all else fails I'll use several towels to wash him with, swaddle style. His fur is just too matted, despite brushing. Baby wipes don't make a dent in the grime.