Pets

Void · Jun 9, 2016

I appreciate the kind words, believe me. Yeah they checked her teeth and everything else. X-rays, ultrasound, blood tests, everything. She got her feeding tube yesterday and is adjusting to it. I've only done two very small feedings with it so far, but it is definitely better for both of us this way. She's still very weak and out of it, but I'm hopeful.

Here's a couple pics. Don't judge my dirty carpet, I've got her separated and as stress-free as possible, so there's no way I'm turning on a vacuum right now. The tube comes out the left side and is tucked in on the right side to keep it from dragging on the ground, and there is a removable cap on the end that I put the syringe in.

In these pictures she's just kind of zoning out over the water. She would lick a little bit, then just kind of stare off into space. Hopefully just after-effects of the anesthesia, but fatty liver can affect mental functioning too. Hopefully most of that goes away as she gets more food into her. She does respond a lot more in other instances, it just seems to be the drinking water thing where she sort of just zones.

For size.

EDIT: And jokes don't bother me, I understand where they are coming from. I make jokes that would sound awful out of context or in the wrong situation all the time, so don't worry about it. But I appreciate the concern.

Gavinmad · Jun 9, 2016

Never seen a calico colored quite like that. The two calicos I've owned didn't have nearly as much white, and their fur color was separated into very distinct patches of black, orange, and white. That ballsack on your cat's shoulders looks like completely normal tortie coloring, as if someone took a tortie and just painted most of it white. Very cute though, I've always been partial to torties/calicos.

koljec_sl · Jun 9, 2016

Vvoid_sl said:
I appreciate the kind words, believe me. Yeah they checked her teeth and everything else. X-rays, ultrasound, blood tests, everything. She got her feeding tube yesterday and is adjusting to it...it just seems to be the drinking water thing where she sort of just zones.

I'm not a vet, I've only owned two cats, and I know you said the doc's done tons of tests, but I would still bet that the cat has a tumor, maybe kidney, that they haven't found.

That feeding tube option is treating a symptom. I'm ambivalent about it.

Good luck to you and the cat all the same.

Frenzied Wombat · Jun 9, 2016

Coolest cat I've ever met was a Bengal and I still want one to this day. They basically act like dogs following you around the house, very "talkative", like water, etc.. Plus they're huge and spotted like cheetahs.

Noodleface · Jun 9, 2016

I watch a lot of My Cat From Hell and the amount of Bengals featured on that show is staggering.

I don't know why I watch that show, I don't even own a cat.

Void · Jun 9, 2016

Well fuck, now I'm going to see a giant ballsack every time I look at her!

It doesn't look quite as ballsacky when she's not all hunched up like that though. The indent between the "balls" is only like that in that picture because her spine is literally poking up (because she's so underweight) and making it look that way, normally it is just fairly straight all the way across.

It could very well be some undiscovered tumor, but it could also have been brought on by the stress of losing one cat that she'd known/tolerated for literally 10 years, and then getting a new one; even though she appeared to handle it fine, there is no way to really know. Or she might have just decided she doesn't like the food I've been giving her. Or any number of other things she can't vocalize. Maybe she gradually started eating less and less and I didn't notice it soon enough, since she has always been a free-eater and I don't portion out food, and if I had caught it earlier this wouldn't be happening. And of course I thought at first she just had a cold, and she was still eating some, but it just kept falling off. So yeah, there could be something really wrong with her, but it could also be something psychological that started it, and of course I'm going to treat the symptom if that's all I have. My only other option is to let her die.

Gavinmad · Jun 9, 2016

Vvoid_sl said:
Well fuck, now I'm going to see a giant ballsack every time I look at her!

Which is exactly why I said it.

*edit*

Here's a funny picture of our newest cat. We really didn't want ANOTHER cat, but this one was serendipity. Saw her up in a tree in our yard a couple months ago. Putting a ladder up just scared her up higher. The village sending by a bucket truck just scared her up higher. Firemen trying to hose her out of the tree (I would have either taken control of or firmly vetoed this one if I had known it was going on) just scared her up higher, to the point that she was perched at the absolute crown of the tree, about 80 feet in the air. After she was getting close to 72 hours in the tree, I was prepared to climb up after her, when the next time I looked for her in the tree she was gone. So, guess she went back home. Except early that evening as we're cooking out, guess who comes cuddling up to us on the patio? Like hopped right up into my lap without any hesitation. We took her to the vet for a checkup, kept an eye out for missing posters, and eventually had her vaccinated, fixed, and kept her. She's a typical DSH but with a heavy dose of Siamese, which shows up strongly in her head/ear shape and her attitude/playfulness.

Anyway, she is not cleaning herself in this picture, she slept like that for almost 45 minutes while I was watching Netflix.

Tenks · Jun 9, 2016

Noodleface_sl said:
I watch a lot of My Cat From Hell and the amount of Bengals featured on that show is staggering.

I don't know why I watch that show, I don't even own a cat.

I decided that your boy Jackson Galaxy is a hack after he told some pet owners that cats don't shit on things out of spite. Hell fucking no. When my wife and I loved in the two cats would "fight" at night. Mainly it was my cat antagonizing her cat. My cat was a good bit younger so hers didn't really want to play with him. One night at like 2 in the morning with the two cats raising all kinds of hell in my just woken retarded state I decided the best course of action was to spank my cat. Yeah real genius move by me I know. So I gave him a few firm whacks on the ass and went back to bed. Well this did not please Pete one iota. There was not one but TWO dumps taken in the house that night. Shockingly enough they were both smack dab on the couch cushion I always sit on downstairs and right on the couch cushion I sit on upstairs. Also he pissed on the cushion. I learned my less that cat knows how to rule me and that is defecating on what I love.

Void · Jun 9, 2016

Twilight Sparkle_sl said:
Anyway, she is not cleaning herself in this picture, she slept like that for almost 45 minutes while I was watching Netflix.

Nothing like a pet cuddler. I can't imagine the number of extra hours I've spent in my recliner because Amira was lying on my lap and I didn't want to wake her.

Big Phoenix · Jun 9, 2016

Voyce_sl said:
they checked her teeth and everything right?

Why is this thread in this sub forum...ugh

This. My last cat has tons of cavities that caused her to stop eating, didn't notice it until she extremely lethargic and losing weight. Finally took her to the vet and they had to pull half of them.

Lanx · Jun 9, 2016

Big Phoenix_sl said:
This. My last cat has tons of cavities that caused her to stop eating, didn't notice it until she extremely lethargic and losing weight. Finally took her to the vet and they had to pull half of them.

not a cat guy, but do they have like Dentabone for cats or something? (dog cleaning chew), what does cat teeth care involve?

Gavinmad · Jun 9, 2016

lanx_sl said:
what does cat teeth care involve?

Give them as little wet food as possible. Acclimate them to having their teeth brushed from an early age if you're really concerned about it. Get them yearly checkups (which you should be doing anyway) so the vet can see their teeth.

Cat's aren't big on chew toys/treats, they're far more interested in things you don't want them chewing on.

Frenzied Wombat · Jun 9, 2016

Never had a biting/chewing problems with any of our family cats growing up-- scratching was the issue. You either got lucky and it liked its scratching post, or you got unlucky and it preferred your leather couch. Probably the only reason why I haven't bought a cat is that I can't risk the latter situation with all new furniture and I refuse to get a cat declawed.

Hoss · Jun 9, 2016

Tenks_sl said:
I decided that your boy Jackson Galaxy is a hack after he told some pet owners that cats don't shit on things out of spite. Hell fucking no. When my wife and I loved in the two cats would "fight" at night. Mainly it was my cat antagonizing her cat. My cat was a good bit younger so hers didn't really want to play with him. One night at like 2 in the morning with the two cats raising all kinds of hell in my just woken retarded state I decided the best course of action was to spank my cat. Yeah real genius move by me I know. So I gave him a few firm whacks on the ass and went back to bed. Well this did not please Pete one iota. There was not one but TWO dumps taken in the house that night. Shockingly enough they were both smack dab on the couch cushion I always sit on downstairs and right on the couch cushion I sit on upstairs. Also he pissed on the cushion. I learned my less that cat knows how to rule me and that is defecating on what I love.

My sister had a cat that shit on my brother in law's pillow. Can't remember how many times, but it was more than once. All of their cats are inside/outside. They had just moved to a new house and this cat ran away back to the old place as soon as it could. Old neighbor caught the cat and they brought it back to the new place and kept it inside for a while so it would know this was new home. Cat would shit on his pillow every chance it got to get in their room. I guess it did it because it knew he didn't like cats. The old neighbor finally said they'd just take care of the cat at the old place.

Gavinmad · Jun 9, 2016

Frenzied Wombat_sl said:
Never had a biting/chewing problems with any of our family cats growing up-- scratching was the issue. You either got lucky and it liked its scratching post, or you got unlucky and it preferred your leather couch. Probably the only reason why I haven't bought a cat is that I can't risk the latter situation with all new furniture and I refuse to get a cat declawed.

Mix a little bit of citrus and eucalyptus oil in a spray bottle and lightly spritz your furniture once or twice a day.

Xarpolis · Jun 12, 2016

Voyce_sl said:
Why is this thread in this sub forum...ugh

I made this post here because I'm a grown up and it was a rather emotional situation that my family was dealing with. We still miss Baku a lot, and bring up his name a few times a week, but it's better now. It doesn't hurt like it did. We know that, no matter how much is sucked at the time, we made the right decision.

That said, if we ever get another pet, as soon as we bring it home, I'm going to buy some pet insurance. We paid a lot for Baku over the years. Neurological things, constant rashes... all that goofy shit. He was still an amazing dog, but a lot of trouble, medically speaking.

Layzi · Jun 12, 2016

Xarpolis_sl said:
I made this post here because I'm a grown up and it was a rather emotional situation that my family was dealing with. We still miss Baku a lot, and bring up his name a few times a week, but it's better now. It doesn't hurt like it did. We know that, no matter how much is sucked at the time, we made the right decision.

That said, if we ever get another pet, as soon as we bring it home, I'm going to buy some pet insurance. We paid a lot for Baku over the years.Neurological things, constant rashes... all that goofy shit. He was still an amazing dog, but a lot of trouble, medically speaking.

My sisters Pitbull had similar issues and it was due to a Chicken Allergy. The vet said that is a common allergy in the breed. She had been feeding dog food with primary ingredient being chicken, switched foods and alot of the issues went away.

Noodleface · Jun 12, 2016

I've always wondered if pet insurance was worth it - I mean, do they cover any medical necessity? Is it like our health insurance where big stuff gets denied and you have to appeal 90 times?

Famm · Jun 12, 2016

Get a mixed breed next time and probably avoid some of the random health concerns.

Palum · Jun 13, 2016

My dog doesn't know how to play with other dogs. He was in a shelter for 9+ months and most of that time supposedly in a cage with several other small dogs, so he was OK with them around him. Before that, not sure if he was on the street at all or what. He's about 5 years old.

He will 'sniff' and approach but any sudden moves or playful actions by the other dog will make him growl very softly and snap defensively if they get too close, he will also retreat a lot. He is fine 'around' them but he doesn't really know how to interact with them. If the other dog is sitting/laying down, he will be fine next to them. What can be done?

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