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've been feeding my cats veterinarian- prescribed food since they were kittens. My one cat stays fairly slim. My other cat is food-driven, that is veterinarian speak for he is a big pig. He eats his, then stands beside his brother and intimidates him till he walks away from his bowl so fatty can have the rest unless I stand there and watch them eat, which is not always possible. But we give them fancy feast as a treat on the weekends.
Our vet gave us sh*t the last time we went cause she says our one cat is morbidly obese and is guaranteed to have diabetes one day if we can't control his eating. We try but it is hard. :(
There so many brands of cat food, it can send your head whirling. That's why I just stay with Purina which first started in the late 1800's. Because my felines are "seniors", I use the Purina One Maturity. I did order the Purina Pro Plan Focus for elderly cats, so I will see how that works... it is much more expensive.
Two of the cats had stayed at a normal weight for their bone size, and the third one turned into a blimp. So you never know who is going to gain the weight or not... she wouldn't eat wet food, just dry. She was a stray cat so she had to forge for food, thus when there was food here she would over eat. She still lived to be 17 with that weight.
Lot of water bowls around, ok that means more get knocked over during play time :P I use Cornell for their bowls instead of plastic or metal dishes. To me I just feel Cornell is safer to use. I had read decades ago about plastic etching into the food.
I have only bought Purina brand food as rarely does Purina have its pet food recalled. The U.S. government has a website for recalled pet food that they update. I like Purina One. Use to use Purina Cat Chow for many years and the cats did well on that, living into their late teens and early 20's. I know there are special diet cat foods for when the critter needs to change their diet.
I have 3, 5 month old kittens
2 adult cats
1 Chiweenie dog (adult)
I appreciate any ideas from anyone.My "smorgsboards" are expensive and out of hand and I'm sure that no one feeds their babies the way I do.Thank you so much.
(Someone told me that cats eat 6 times a day and dogs eat 2 times a day.Is that right?)
Gershun,
What happened? Did the cats eat your soup? Hoping you are better today.
As to cumulative grief.....
My dad's parents died within a year of one another. I don't recall my dad showing any emotion during those difficult times, but....
One evening, a few weeks after Nana passed away, my dad brought home a banana cream pie. He was very excited about it and after dinner, took the box carefully out of the fridge, only to discover that he had placed the box in the fridge upside down. He burst into tears.
I was terrified and asked my mom " why is daddy crying about a pie?". She shushed me and said, " he's not crying about the pie; he's crying because Nana is dead". A good first lesson in psychology.
Thanks for sharing about your awesome cats, FF. (((((hugs)))))
Gershun, Can your cats dial out, have some soup delivered?
I like to picture my lost pets sitting with Mom in heaven.
Take care FF! :(
Sorry for your loss; perhaps it is the cumulative loss that is taking a toll now
Take it easy today
I think my feeling of such loss with the cat compared to that of my parents, was that the cat gave me no problems at all. None of this we can manage on our own which my parents use to say... or calls saying they were going to start driving again... you know the drill. The stress was mild with the cat compared to my parents.
"Katie" lived in my bedroom after her lst stroke last year, thus it was her "assisted living" studio. She only went downstairs if I carried her to give her a change of scenery. And she slept with me every night as she insisted on being close to me as I was her "caregiver". In the past she was quite independent, petting on her terms, not a lap cat, would roam the house with a high level of authority.
While Katie was in the ER, I noticed at home a certain unusual odor over by where I have my late Dad's bookcase filled with some of his books and knick knacks. My sig other and our male cat couldn't smell it, but the other female cat did,... she even stood up to look into the bookcase. And would eye the bookcase every time she went by. This went on and off for two days. I know this sounds weird, I was wondering if my late Dad [who passed in Sept] was trying to tell me that it's ok, he will take care of Katie when and if she joins him.
I meant to say something insightful about why it's not odd. But I can't find the words. It just isn't, that's all. Hugs x
There must be a meadow somewhere.....over the rainbow bridge somewhere....where our pets will wait happily for us.
You will miss Katie, but you never let her down.
I'm so sorry for your loss of dear old Katie.You did everything you could have to help her at the end,and you gave her 17 great years of your Love.I know you will miss her so much and I pray that you meet her again someday.Many {{{Hugs}}}, Lu
I believe in her former life she was an electrical engineer plus a prison warden. She could figure things out. She would take her toys from the toy box and arrange them in geometrical figures. And she would take no gruff from the other two cats, especially the male cat... if looks could kill she could stare down him with the pupils of her eyes getting bigger and bigger. She was a helicopter "parent" to the other female cat. She had 17 good years with us, came as an abandoned cat.
What is odd is that I cried more for her passing then that of my parents, who passed in their 90's.
The only reason we are going through all this, is that the cat is a tough old bird... she bounced back from other health issues over the years with amazement. And she learned on her own how to walk after her previous stroke, and how to communicate with us her needs.
This animal ER is always packed with pet owners, as they offer all services there. Our cat needed a sonogram on her heart, so there was an animal cardiologist on-site. She needed to see a neurologist, yes there is a group on-site. There is also physical therapy group, and a cancer-care center. It's like going to a people hospital.
The other two elderly cats at home just noticed that "Katie" hasn't been around since Tuesday. The cat in the hospital is the alpha cat, so the two at home are confused.
We will pick her up tomorrow once her blood pressure goes down to a normal limit. The Vet said the cat was sitting up on her own and moving about... oh my gosh, as this morning she couldn't do anything by just lay flat, couldn't pick her head up. Animals can be amazing :)
Just cannot wait to hear about your new house-when you get time, of course. Are you so very happy? Get well soon!
Hubs and I are adjusting too, resting today as I came down with bronchitis.
Sendhelp, the Vet now gave me a script for liquid thyroid meds which can be mixed at a pharmacy with chicken.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Well, this morning at 5 a.m. we were at the emergency ER with the oldest cat... she had another stroke during the night... poor baby... I honestly thought we would need to put her down but the ER vet sounded very positive. A neurologist will be checking the cat out this afternoon.