We share our home with three cats now. We've always had a houseful of felines and kids but now the kids are all grown and gone and it's just me, my husband, (Sky) Schuyler, Angie and (Terminator) Tootsie.
Back in 1993 my husband was at a vet's office to pick up our dog and as he walked down a hallway, he felt something tugging at his arm. In a cage he saw the most magnificant and gorgeous cat he had ever seen.
The vet said that the cat had been left with him for euthenasia. Bob didn't ask why, but the vet explained that Schuyler was too difficult for his owner to handle. He said that Sky was declawed, had all immunizations and papers to show that he was a registered Birman. Birman are supposed to be long haired by Sky had short hair, weighed 22 lbs., and had all the right Birman markings. The vet asked my husband if he would like to take Sky home and no way could Bob say "no".
We had just returned to the U.S. after living in Switzerland for 3 years. We'd transported six cats and a dog to Europe and back and another kitty in the household was no problem for us. And anyhow, Sky was fascinating and stunning to look at.
We quickly realized that Sky had never been outdoors. Our cats are generally indoor pets though we do let them out occasionally for a few minutes. Sky tiptoed over the lawn the first time we let him outside so we just kept him indoors all of the time. He was a gentleman and preferred the comfort of a well organized house. He especially seemed to enjoy lounging in a bathtub so we guessed he had spent considerable time locked in a bathroom. He also got excited if he smelled ice cream or canned tuna. I speculated that he'd lived with a single working person who fed him whatever was handy. He was going to have to adapt to a new lifestyle and it turned out to be easier than we expected.
We have lived all these years with this wonderful, rambunctious cat who has won our hearts and who has always been sociable with other animals in our home. He plays "soccer" with his cat toys, tossing them up then batting them across the room and into the air. He bites my ankle to let me know he wants something and if I know what's good for me, I'd better figure out what that is. I'm immuno suppressed so if a cat bite breaks the skin I either have to flush even the most minor break or expect to be hospitalized, with the possibility that the bite could lead to a fatal infection. I've learned to be very careful and a tube of Neosporin is always at the ready if I need it.
Recently, Sky has seemed to be starving to death. He's lost most of his body weight and we've taken him to two vets but neither has a clue about what is wrong. His only symptom is frequent vomiting. His appetite appears to be voracious though he actually eats almost nothing. Lab tests have not identified a problem and they don't think he has cancer. Nor does he seem to have a thyroid problem. He is simply wasting away. We fight with him to try to give him the Prednisone the vets have prescribed but he hates it and he is still very strong so usually the medicine ends up all over us and not inside him. Since he eats so little, there's no point to putting it in his food. Yet when we're eating or cooking he begs for a taste though he rarely even eats a tiny bite if we try to oblige him. Our hearts are breaking. He comes to us and taps us on the shoulder or nuzzles us, or just cuddles. He wants help but nothing we do works.
Over the years he has played with and intimidated Angie, our little desert cat. When we moved to Las Vegas in 1997, the property manager found her in 110F heat being terrorized by neighborhood kids who were throwing rocks and dirt at her. At the time we had two other cats besides Sky but there was no way we would put her back in the heat to be tortured by neighborhood hooligans. She has been with us ever since and she is now a little round ball of love. Sadly, Sky and Angie no longer play. Cats seem to sense impending death and begin to ignore the "friend" they are about to lose. We also have Tootsie who we have nicknamed "The Terminator." For weeks I saw her lurking in the shrubbery outside our house in Las Vegas but she was clearly semi-feral and would not let me come near her. So, I put food out for her every day then one day she simply walked into our house through the patio door, found her way to our bedroom, and hid under out bed. Until she figured out how to get into the garage where we kept the litter box, she used our bathtub. Fortunately she found the garage quickly. We call her Terminator because she becomes a ball of shrieking fur that stands on end as she flies into attack mode every time she sees Angie or Sky. She's a pretty little calico and she no longer attacks us but she still goes after Angie and Sky, so we have made a home for her in our spare bedroom. Actually, she will reside wherever she chooses. That's the kind of cat she is. We do love her very much. We love them all too much which is partly why Sky is now breaking our hearts.
I am hoping that someone has some suggestions about how to get liquid Prednisone down Schuyler twice a day, and I am hoping someone has some idea about why Sky keeps losing weight and eats so little, while continuing to vomit at least twice a day. Is he dying? We fear he is, and if so, is he in pain? He doesn't appear to be. How can we help him? What can we do to make his life better? No way can we bring ourselves to have him "put down" and anyhow, we have no justification to do something like that. The vets could not find any tumors or lumps or swollen lymph nodes. Nothing. Nada. He is just wasting away. We love him so much and we just want to hold him close and do whatever we can to make his life happy and comfortable. We were told that he was about five years old when he came to live with us in 1993, so that means that he must be 16 years old now. In the past, our babies have lived to be as old as 22 except when cancer or kidney failure took them from us. No sign of either in Sky, and if he's 16, he doesn't seem very old in our opinion.
Is there medication we might try to give him to increase his appetite? We would be so grateful for any suggestions or words of advice. I can be reached at [email protected].
Thanks to anyone who might be able to help.
Best regards,
Geri
Back in 1993 my husband was at a vet's office to pick up our dog and as he walked down a hallway, he felt something tugging at his arm. In a cage he saw the most magnificant and gorgeous cat he had ever seen.
The vet said that the cat had been left with him for euthenasia. Bob didn't ask why, but the vet explained that Schuyler was too difficult for his owner to handle. He said that Sky was declawed, had all immunizations and papers to show that he was a registered Birman. Birman are supposed to be long haired by Sky had short hair, weighed 22 lbs., and had all the right Birman markings. The vet asked my husband if he would like to take Sky home and no way could Bob say "no".
We had just returned to the U.S. after living in Switzerland for 3 years. We'd transported six cats and a dog to Europe and back and another kitty in the household was no problem for us. And anyhow, Sky was fascinating and stunning to look at.
We quickly realized that Sky had never been outdoors. Our cats are generally indoor pets though we do let them out occasionally for a few minutes. Sky tiptoed over the lawn the first time we let him outside so we just kept him indoors all of the time. He was a gentleman and preferred the comfort of a well organized house. He especially seemed to enjoy lounging in a bathtub so we guessed he had spent considerable time locked in a bathroom. He also got excited if he smelled ice cream or canned tuna. I speculated that he'd lived with a single working person who fed him whatever was handy. He was going to have to adapt to a new lifestyle and it turned out to be easier than we expected.
We have lived all these years with this wonderful, rambunctious cat who has won our hearts and who has always been sociable with other animals in our home. He plays "soccer" with his cat toys, tossing them up then batting them across the room and into the air. He bites my ankle to let me know he wants something and if I know what's good for me, I'd better figure out what that is. I'm immuno suppressed so if a cat bite breaks the skin I either have to flush even the most minor break or expect to be hospitalized, with the possibility that the bite could lead to a fatal infection. I've learned to be very careful and a tube of Neosporin is always at the ready if I need it.
Recently, Sky has seemed to be starving to death. He's lost most of his body weight and we've taken him to two vets but neither has a clue about what is wrong. His only symptom is frequent vomiting. His appetite appears to be voracious though he actually eats almost nothing. Lab tests have not identified a problem and they don't think he has cancer. Nor does he seem to have a thyroid problem. He is simply wasting away. We fight with him to try to give him the Prednisone the vets have prescribed but he hates it and he is still very strong so usually the medicine ends up all over us and not inside him. Since he eats so little, there's no point to putting it in his food. Yet when we're eating or cooking he begs for a taste though he rarely even eats a tiny bite if we try to oblige him. Our hearts are breaking. He comes to us and taps us on the shoulder or nuzzles us, or just cuddles. He wants help but nothing we do works.
Over the years he has played with and intimidated Angie, our little desert cat. When we moved to Las Vegas in 1997, the property manager found her in 110F heat being terrorized by neighborhood kids who were throwing rocks and dirt at her. At the time we had two other cats besides Sky but there was no way we would put her back in the heat to be tortured by neighborhood hooligans. She has been with us ever since and she is now a little round ball of love. Sadly, Sky and Angie no longer play. Cats seem to sense impending death and begin to ignore the "friend" they are about to lose. We also have Tootsie who we have nicknamed "The Terminator." For weeks I saw her lurking in the shrubbery outside our house in Las Vegas but she was clearly semi-feral and would not let me come near her. So, I put food out for her every day then one day she simply walked into our house through the patio door, found her way to our bedroom, and hid under out bed. Until she figured out how to get into the garage where we kept the litter box, she used our bathtub. Fortunately she found the garage quickly. We call her Terminator because she becomes a ball of shrieking fur that stands on end as she flies into attack mode every time she sees Angie or Sky. She's a pretty little calico and she no longer attacks us but she still goes after Angie and Sky, so we have made a home for her in our spare bedroom. Actually, she will reside wherever she chooses. That's the kind of cat she is. We do love her very much. We love them all too much which is partly why Sky is now breaking our hearts.
I am hoping that someone has some suggestions about how to get liquid Prednisone down Schuyler twice a day, and I am hoping someone has some idea about why Sky keeps losing weight and eats so little, while continuing to vomit at least twice a day. Is he dying? We fear he is, and if so, is he in pain? He doesn't appear to be. How can we help him? What can we do to make his life better? No way can we bring ourselves to have him "put down" and anyhow, we have no justification to do something like that. The vets could not find any tumors or lumps or swollen lymph nodes. Nothing. Nada. He is just wasting away. We love him so much and we just want to hold him close and do whatever we can to make his life happy and comfortable. We were told that he was about five years old when he came to live with us in 1993, so that means that he must be 16 years old now. In the past, our babies have lived to be as old as 22 except when cancer or kidney failure took them from us. No sign of either in Sky, and if he's 16, he doesn't seem very old in our opinion.
Is there medication we might try to give him to increase his appetite? We would be so grateful for any suggestions or words of advice. I can be reached at [email protected].
Thanks to anyone who might be able to help.
Best regards,
Geri