Cat problems

Just like to reply to 3 posts.

Steve J.....if you dont like these posts WHY WASTE YOUR TIME READING THEM,and why waste even more time with a reply ??

Gale 401....great photo you posted yesterday,made us both laugh. Are you related to madman Meredith ?

Debs....thanks for your kind post,never met you but you sound like a nice person. Mogs may have the big C and be old but is still her normal bouncy self. A fox had the nerve to walk into our garden yesterday and as usual she went for it,fox soon moved on.

Cheers

Mista H

I have to agree with Steve J up to a point.

Having had two cats which we kept longer than we should (through surgery, suffering, wasting away) I realise we should have put them down sooner.  We kept them on to meet our needs, not theirs.

Having given an animal a good life there comes a time when one has to move on.

Either get a homeless one (they are being killed off everyday because nobody wants them), or give the money you would have spent with the vet to a charity to prevent a child going blind or to have surgery.

Don sunny downtown York

Thanks Don,a very sensible post and thats is what we intend to do. We had an Alsation many years ago,again with cancer and as soon as he started to go down hill it was a one way vets trip.

Mista H

Hi Mista H

Thanks Mista, you sound like a nice person too, cat people usually are

and unlike some opinions above I don’t advocate replacing your cat for another just because there is an illness, this isn’t a defective or disposable Hifi component iching for an upgrade, Cats are soul mates and deserve the loyalty of care and concern in their final year(s), and it would seem for the time-being Mogs is fit enough to cope with medication.

It may help if you explain to your vet that you’ve no pet health cover and have limited funds available for treatment, some Vets have the strange ability to produce a far lower costing price list when there is no insurance to claim on.

A good idea to get Mogs an indoor toilet tray, if not done so already, it will be appreciated by her no doubt but is a good indication of health to observe her toileting habits.

Also fresh water at least twice a day in a clean bowl.

Do you know which type of cancer she has?

Debs

Debs

If you were referring to my post, I would like to correct you.

I did not advocate disposing of a cat "just because there is an illness".

I proposed putting it out of a misery from which it cannot recover, and which it does not understand.

There is a difference.

Don, sunny downtown York

Hello Debs

Vet says its in her chest(results of an x ray/biopsy).

We have had a litter tray for her from the day she moved in.

We dont have pet insurance and although we are now both retired we both had very well paid jobs so we can cope with the bills,but i have to say she is costing us a bloody fortune.

Thanks again for your advice.

Mista h

Don

If you want me to refer to your post...

You have already agreed to Steve J's outrageous post so who are you pontificate on corrections?

In the same post you said:

"Having given an animal a good life there comes a time when one has to move on. Either get a homeless one…" [yakka yakka]

Replacing your terminally ill pet cat for a brand new healthy one is somewhat objectifying them as consumer products to be valued though unsentimental conditions.

There certainly is a difference between premature and appropriate time for euthanasia but it’s shame you clearly haven’t a clue what it is.

Debs

I like the the "greater good" argument to help resolve this type of stalemate. Would the the effort spent prolonging the life of an 18 year-old, terminally ill cat be much better spent saving the life of a young, perfectly healthy cat about to be euthanised at an RSPCA shelter because it doesn't have a home to go to?

Considering it in this manner helps cut through the crap about whose interest are really being served by palliative veterinary care. The cat's, or the owner's? So yes, prolong the life of your moggy if that is what you want, but don't pretend it is for the greater good of cats generally (or even in the best interests of your cat).

You're prologing it's misery. No point to it.

$100 goes towards 3 cataract operations in humans, restoring vision in them.

You could make a donation in your cat's name. It might give the cat enough good karma points to make into heaven, or come back to life as a human in its next life, if you believe in such things.

.

I'm with Debs... just stick with Moggy until the end. 'Owing somebody' or 'the greater good' have nothing to do with this, it's all about friendship and loyalty.

EJ

+1

Hello Debs

Slow progress,but with help from a 10 year old hope this picture comes out.

Mogs resting between scraps.

Mista H

If the cat's only feeding on scraps and id deteriorating, then why don't you take your own advise that was given on the goldfish thread? No difference IMO.

Who said she was feeding?

My three are litter-mate sisters but play-scrap like the 3 stooges most of the time

Debs

Att Debs

Just to keep you updated,Mogs is still alive and kicking,or should i say biting, She cost me a bottle of wine last week + apology.

Vet was holding her whilst they were trying to do an X ray, she decided she had had enough and bit clean thru his thumbnail which must have been bloody painfull. Told them to muzzle her in future.

Mista h

Glad to hear Mogs is still thriving.

steve

Hi Mista h,

It must be a bit frightening for cat to be x-rayed, and understandable she may lose her cool in the strange environment of the clinic.

I suppose for a vet, getting bitten is an occupational risk and habit, lets just hope his wound doesn’t stick out like a sore thumb.

My 3 kitties recently attended the vets for their annual booster vacs + check-ups.

All went very well, only the £118 expense bill was painful for me, although that does include frontline flee control & milbemax worming tablets which I had the pleasure of doing last week.

I’m getting very good [with practise] of getting the tablets into them, I use butter on the tablets, push well into mouth onto back of tongue, quickly clamp cat mouth shut with head up while holding firmly swaying to the beat of ’3 time’ music on classic FM.

Seems to work everytime.

Hope Mogs x-ray results are favourable and she is responding well to treatment.

Give her a cuddle and wish her all the best from me! : )

Debs

Advocate kills fleas better and also kills ear mites.

Drontal make a spot-on treatment that kills worms, so you shouldn't need to use tablets anymore.

Funny you should mention this, it was my last time for using it anyway, and for 2 other reasons; apparently in some parts of the UK [such as in the South West] flees have become immune from froneline, although this doesn’t necessarily apply all other the country [yet?] but seems to be true in many farming areas because farmers over-use chemically similar products on sheep especially, the parasites in the locality develop immunity.

Frontline also has concerns over the ingredient fipronil which is a good deal more toxic to cats and humans if accidentally ingested or inhaled. I believe the spray-on version of frontline has been banned in the USA because it is considered too dangerous.

Only last week I was recommended Advocate from a knowledgably friend, and i intend to use it on my kitties next time. Advocate can kill fleas ticks earmites and most helminthes all in one go, however

the only cat parasite found in the UK that it *doesn't* cover is plain old tapeworm, so Advocate plus a cheap tapeworm-only treatment should give full cover. I may stick to using Milbemax tablets with butter.

Drontal Spot-on: is that the product called Profender?

Used it once last year and my cats reacted in alarm and panic when it was applied. I got the impression it was an irritant [or even painful] so don't like the idea of using it again! : (

What i'd like to know is where i can buy Milbemax and Advocate spot-on at affordable cost, for 3 cats each time it's very expensive at the vets, i'm not going to risk buying of the internet, but will try Pets At Home for family size packs next time i'm in there.

Debs

Debs, unfortunately Advocate is prescription only, so buying it cheap is difficult. I use it once every 2 months.........expensive, but better than having fleas though.

Kate and i were thinking of taking on 1 or 2 older cats when eventually Mogs goes,say 10/12 years old as everyone wants kittens or very young cats,but whats turning us off the idea is the vets bills as they get older. The owners of our vets already drives a Porsche and i dont fancy making donations to a ferrari.

Guy who i play squash with his wife(not him) has 5 cats. I have warned him he will have to keep working until he is 90 odd just to cover their vets bills

Thanks for your wishes also PP

Mista h

Yes, prescription only is true, but someone told me 'Pets At Home' have an in house member of staff who is qualified as a vet so maybe able to order up a supply at less cost than at my local vet centre.

Also i think buying a one year supply at a time should work out far more ecomonical in the long run, rather than paying an arm and a leg prices for each treatment every couple of months at the vets.

I have to go in Pets At Home soon anyway, my cats are very fond of the Butchers classic tinned cat food, and supplies are running low. My cats have DNA tested it and say it's 100% pure beef steak ; )

Debs