cat health | Savannah's Paw Tracks

Archive for the tag “cat health”

30 May 2022

Getting old ain’t easy

HIYA!! SAVANNAH HERE!!!

First lemme tell you, my friends, Mom L and I thought this post was gonna be a whole lot different than it is today. I know, I know—I missed my Friday Memes post. But I have a good reason. You see, I was at my regular Vet DVM place, but with a different Doc. This Doc was very good, except—the Doc forgot the “why” I was there and focused on my dismal sad, lethargic state and my whole senior cat history.

Well I can tell you! I cried, Mom L and Dad P cried! The Doc started to talk about…ahem, koff, koff…ya know…that “end of life” chat. That took the whole focus OFF the real health challenge I was brought in for. Mom L noticed that I had been going in and out and in and out of the litter boxes multiple times within one hour over a few days etc.

But the Doc focused on my senior ailments, and decided it was time to have the “talk” with Mom L and Dad P. Thank Ceiling Cat that Mom L and Dad P know me so well. They said “thank you” but we will get back to you. They left, having forgotten the “why” they brought me in the first place.

That night I literally went between two litter boxes THIRTY times!! Mom L knows, ‘cuz she was counting them and watchin’ over me. Thank Ceiling Cat again, Dad P and Mom L took me to a great emergency Vet hospital on Saturday at about 8 AM PDST.

My pals, I so wanted outta there!! We waited for over an hour in that little room. I know, yes…we could hear that there were several even more critical care needs for other woofies before they could get to me. I did try my best to find an escape route!!

Mom L and I were there for like five hours. But I went home with a urine draw done and a pawerful antibiotic for treating my suspected urinary tract infection. Fast forward to today, Sunday, May 29. I am peeing like a champ!!

And enjoying a bit of time with my nip rainbow! This kitteh may be seventeen years old, but she still has some moves left, by golly!!

Now to add to the state of health affairs for Sage and sweet Katie. Sage was at the Vet about ten days before me. She was not eating for like three days, vomiting bile, etc. Mom L suspects the evil IBD. But our Vet gave her some fluids AND cerenia, to calm her gut track that day. And TKS is back to her darling, always willing to eat anything self!!

And lastly, precious Katie has been back again for that horrible fungus that won’t let go of her claw sheaths. More than on Vet has suggested she might need her claw (s) removed!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! NO SIREEE!!!!!!! That will not happen in her lifetime. Mom L and Dad P will catch her once a week to treat her affected claws, for the remainder of her life!!! KATIE WILL NOT HAVE HER CLAWS REMOVED!!!

So, that’s what’s happening over the last ten days or so in my castle. Let me know how you are all doing. We all know that gettin’ older is tough, but we can still be active kitties, loved by our humans!

PAW PATS, SAVANNAH

20 Dec 2021

33 Comments

POTP for Our Sweet Katie

HIYA!! SAVANNAH HERE!!!

I thought I outta update my readers on why you haven’t seen many photos or participation from our sweet little Katie. She has been battling some kind’a bacterial infection that has taken over 10 of her 16 claw sheaths. We have been trying to treat this for months now. Her Vet sent in skin scraping for culture testing and she does indeed have a bacterial infection. But— the “why” is eluding our Vet. And Doc K is the best!

4 weeks ago Now

You can see in the photo from 4+weeks ago, that our cat litter was encrusted on her claw sheath and when Mom L pulled that clump away, it was oozing puss. And it bled a bit too. In the “now” photo (apologies for the blur) you can see that the skin around the claw and sheath are pink and healthy. But, the claw is discolored. Katie has had 3 long acting antibacterial injections over the last couple of months. And she has been on some nasty liquid antibiotic (Orbax) for the last two weeks.

You can see that precious Katie doesn’t much like this yucky stuff. And you can see that she is very depressed and sad. You see, Katie has never become comfortable with being picked up. And she has never sat in a lap. She allows Dad P to pet her every night and she sometimes sleeps between his or Mom L’s legs at night and when Mom L takes an afternoon nap. Katie, if you recall, was rescued by Mom L and Dad P from a horrible hoarding place when she was only 5-6 months old. She had already had kittens; Mom L could see she had been nursing within the last weeks. Mom L also found dead kittens, barely days old, in the closet; likely Katie’s.

All that said, Katie has to be confined in Dad P’s office so he and Mom L can administer her meds and Mom L cleans all of her claws with an antiseptic pad every day. This infection spread to most of her claw sheaths. She is improving but what happens now that the antibiotics are finished?

By confining her to one place, we can test different litter with her to learn if it is the wheat clumping litter we have used for years that has caused this to happen to her. We are now on our third litter trial; silica non-clumping and her claws are looking better. But she still has the meds in her system so we won’t know for sure until the next week or so. Next we will try to learn if this might be a food allergy. So disturbing.

We sure will appreciate all the POTP (Power of the Paw) you send her. She is very depressed, misses her play buddy Eowyn and we know she thinks she is being punished. We all have leaky eyes for our darling little Katie. Our guest bed is in Dad P’s office and he has been sleeping with her the whole time she is confined. That is over two and a half weeks now. Katie does play with Dad P’s footsies under the covers at night, and she comes up to his chest for snuggles and pets and she sleeps with him all night. But when the sun arrives and daylight begins to show itself, Katie retreat to her hiding spots in Dad P’s closet. And she remains in there all day. When anyone enters the room during the day, and Katie is out on the tower or bed or Dad P’s chair, Katie slinks back to her hidey spots. Breaking all our hearts.

PAW PATS, SAVANNAH

Posted in Katie's Life Experiences and tagged cat health, cat recovery, scared cat

30 Mar 2016

23 Comments

Smooch the Paw—Don’t De-Claw

HIYA! SAVANNAH HERE!!

Seriously, I am trying to be ALMOST wordless on this Wednesday post. But—well, you all know I am a very wordy ladycat.

Mom L has this fantasy that one day, she will be able to smooch my toesies.

Dream on Mom L!! MOL!

So now comes the serious part, isn’t it so much more pleasant to smooch a cat’s paws, than to de-claw those very same paws?

What say you all my readers, let me know you thoughts in comments—and give me your thoughts on how we can change the USA to embrace what so many other countries have already dealt with—