Cats

[Herdfan]

Thanks everyone.

She is being cremated and will reside in a box beside her other siblings. She is the one that bridged the cats my wife came with and the ones we have now. Of the 10 cats we have had since getting married almost 29 years ago, she knew all but one of them. We got her after the cat my wife brought home from Nigeria died a few weeks short of being 20. Chloe died in May and we got Gabby in July.

One funny thing about her was she was still a kitten when our first stray take-in went blind. We came back from Thanksgiving and he walked into the suitcase. Apparently he had gone blind while we were gone. Vet said he could still see shadows, but that was about it. Up until then, Gabby would not leave him alone. She wanted to play, but he didn't. She tormented him all the time. But when he went blind, she somehow knew and stopped bothering him. We would come home to find them napping together. Even as a kitten, she kind of looked out for him his last few months.

 

[Eric]

After almost 16 years, our sweet Gabby's time has come to and end. We couldn't have asked for a better companion for our 7 year old daughter. We drove 6+ hours to get her from a cattery in NC. Had never actually "bought" a cat before. But she turned out to be the sweetest thing. But it is now time to say goodbye as Congestive Heart Failure is making her breathing very labored and we have to chase her around to get her to eat. The vet says we can keep her around a few weeks longer with Lasix and possible weekly trips to the vet to have excess fluid drained. But that would be for us, not her.

Good night sweet Gabby. 5/1/07 - 4/18/23

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Really sorry to hear about your loss, they're family and it's heartbreaking. We also lost Dinky, our miniature dachshund of 16 years a couple of weeks ago and we're still pretty broken up about it, especially because we put her down and I felt an enormous amount of guilt over it. She was in diapers and couldn't walk anymore but when she stopped eating we decided it was time.

Our other dog, Milo, also has congestive heart failure and is on Lasix just as your Gabby was along with another heart pill we give him twice a day. He does a lot of coughing and has labored breathing but is otherwise in good spirits. We'll just give him the best life we can with the time he has left.

16 years is a long time! I'm sure Gabby had a great life.

 

[Roller]

Children's cat-killing contest axed following backlash in New Zealand | CNN

A contest planned for children in New Zealand to hunt and kill feral cats as part of a drive to protect native species has been axed following backlash from the public and animal rights groups.

www.cnn.com

Feral cats are a problem, but inviting children to kill them seems like a bad idea. Fortunately, that part of the effort has been canceled.

 

[Nycturne]

On a more positive note, our cat has been stable and showing no signs of side effects from the medications she’s on. This is probably the closest we’ve gotten to “normal” in a long time. Ever since we’ve adopted her, she never really demanded food. Now she gets upset if we’re late with meals. But she’s still just as interactive with us as ever, but it’s clear her mood is better than before. This is a cat that says good night before going off to watch the neighborhood wildlife at night, is promptly there when she hears you are getting up in the morning (if she isn’t already in the bed), and at the front door when you get home.

She has completely stopped “throwing tantrums” by biting USB cables too. She’s more likely to try to butter us up and then get vocal if she thinks she’s being ignored.

She’s also adapted to the routine, and we haven’t had to force her to take her pills. Sometimes she doesn’t like the chewy wrap around the pill, but can be enticed well enough on those days. Figured out a couple bad reactions to some treats we tried before, and things have been quiet since. Fingers crossed we get a good long time like this.

 

[Herdfan]

Wife ordered one of these urns for our daughter. They are personalized and are made to look like your cat.

 

[Eric]

Wife ordered one of these urns for our daughter. They are personalized and are made to look like your cat.

View attachment 23196

Wow, that's actually really cool. We always get their ashes, the dedicated ashes that aren't mixed with other animals, and a really nice box. We have a nice little shrine for them all that we've built up over the years.

 

[Herdfan]

Wow, that's actually really cool. We always get their ashes, the dedicated ashes that aren't mixed with other animals, and a really nice box. We have a nice little shrine for them all that we've built up over the years.

As do we. Right now there are 3 boxes, 1 has Chloe & Moe which were the cats my wife had when we met, then 1 has Hummer who was our first rescue. He gets his own box since Chloe & Moe didn't really like him, and 1 box has Mama & Misty, a mom & daughter. Each box has a nice brass plate with the names and dates. Mama & Misty also have clay paw prints on top of their box. Gabby will also have a clay paw print.

Before we got married, we used to bury the dogs in the yard at my parent's house. Each one seemed to have a place they liked, so we tried to lay them where they liked to be.

 

[Herdfan]

Chewy is a Class A company. At least as far as this was concerned.

The wife had ordered a cage to make transporting Gabby across the country easier on her. She would have room to walk around and a box and food & water.

With her passing we don't need the cage anymore, so the wife called Chewy to see about returning it. We figured it was going to be almost a wash based on the amount we paid vs how much to ship it back, but she didn't want to keep it knowing why it was bought.

Chewy is not only refunding our money, but told us to just donate the cage to a local shelter. It is now on in my truck to be delivered later today.

That is how you treat customers. At least in this instance.

 

[Roller]

Chewy is a Class A company. At least as far as this was concerned.

The wife had ordered a cage to make transporting Gabby across the country easier on her. She would have room to walk around and a box and food & water.

With her passing we don't need the cage anymore, so the wife called Chewy to see about returning it. We figured it was going to be almost a wash based on the amount we paid vs how much to ship it back, but she didn't want to keep it knowing why it was bought.

Chewy is not only refunding our money, but told us to just donate the cage to a local shelter. It is now on in my truck to be delivered later today.

That is how you treat customers. At least in this instance.

I can second your praise for Chewy. We've had a few instances where products didn't quite perform as advertised, and they've refunded our money and told us to do whatever we wanted with them.

 

[Herdfan]

Big scare today.

So we have been working on the new house and we finally brought my BGE out last week and I was on the back porch cleaning it.

Somehow the screen door got left ajar and then my wife noticed our large cat Coco was no longer laying on the couch. So we looked all over the house and couldn’t find him.

Now for a 22lb cat, he is afraid of just about everything. So I didn’t think he would have run out but we looked all over the house and couldn’t find him. Shook the treat container and the wife cracked a can of food which normally brings his chunky butt running. Nope.

So I walked all over the neighborhood looking and calling. The wife then called the pet sitter who has spent some time with him over the last few months. She was willing to come over and look but the wife told her not to.

This is where it gets weird. She called back and told the wife that she had a vision (we are near Sedona which is famous for its Vortexes (they call them vortexes and not vortices for some reason) Crystal shops, earth energy and all that) that he was under the couch in her African Room (she taught in a mission school in Nigeria for two years and has a lot of stuff from there).

Sure enough, she went back to the house and that’s where he was. Not sure how he managed to get under there or why he didn’t come for treats or canned food.

So just thankful he was found.

 

[Eric]

Big scare today.

So we have been working on the new house and we finally brought my BGE out last week and I was on the back porch cleaning it.

Somehow the screen door got left ajar and then my wife noticed our large cat Coco was no longer laying on the couch. So we looked all over the house and couldn’t find him.

Now for a 22lb cat, he is afraid of just about everything. So I didn’t think he would have run out but we looked all over the house and couldn’t find him. Shook the treat container and the wife cracked a can of food which normally brings his chunky butt running. Nope.

So I walked all over the neighborhood looking and calling. The wife then called the pet sitter who has spent some time with him over the last few months. She was willing to come over and look but the wife told her not to.

This is where it gets weird. She called back and told the wife that she had a vision (we are near Sedona which is famous for its Vortexes (they call them vortexes and not vortices for some reason) Crystal shops, earth energy and all that) that he was under the couch in her African Room (she taught in a mission school in Nigeria for two years and has a lot of stuff from there).

Sure enough, she went back to the house and that’s where he was. Not sure how he managed to get under there or why he didn’t come for treats or canned food.

So just thankful he was found.

Glad to hear it all worked out, it's like losing a family member, I wouldn't have rested until I found him either.

 

[Herdfan]

Not sure if this should be in the Cats thread or What I did today thread. Because it's both.

At our old house, we had solid door stops. The new one has spring ones. So Coco figured out they make a cool noise when pulled on. It's his new toy.

Until later today when I replace them with solid ones. At least in the bedroom.

 

[Herdfan]

So the offspring had to take her cat to the vet yesterday because he was coughing a lot. Turns out he has asthma. But he also seems to have a condition called Mega-Colon which one of our previous cats had.

Just sitting here amused that my 23 year old daughter is having to give her cat a suppository. Did tell her to make sure she did it in the bathroom and to keep him locked in there until it works. Because we aren't coming over to help her clean up the mess.

 

[Renzatic]

Mega-Colon

Sounds AWESOME!

 

[Nycturne]

Can't believe it's been almost a year since my last post.

It's been a rollercoaster with her. Prednisolone stopped being as effective and so we upped her dosage recently. She was getting picky with her food, and the vomiting returned. With the higher dosage she's doing better, and she's eating more foods again. So fingers crossed. Not sure if it was her increased weight reducing the effectiveness or something else. Gotta watch for signs of diabetes with the higher dosage though, so we still gotta use the baby scale every so often to track her weight.

Chemo has been going well, and her bloodwork is normal to the point of being boring.

Her attitude is quite good. She has gotten a chance to go to a local park a couple times, but she really dislikes the crowds. But it's amazing how she'll get out of the car at the park on her own, explore until she's done with the kids or satisfied, and then walk back to the car and get back in. She even can go from the car back to the house on her own.

 

[Renzatic]

My cat is fat. My cat is fuzzy. My cat is a fat fuzzy cat.

 

[Herdfan]

My cat is fat. My cat is fuzzy. My cat is a fat fuzzy cat.

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A "ginger". I feel for you. They're crazy.

 

[Renzatic]

A "ginger". I feel for you. They're crazy.

Nah, she's just hyper. Also hungry all the time, but I think that's the way all cats are.

 

[Yoused]

hungry all the time, but I think that's the way all cats are

That reminds me of the time Nefurtari came in with a small bird in her mouth. I told her, "good job – don't eat it in here," so she took it over by the back door. It was one of the most disgusting things I have ever listened to. When she was done, I went to clean up after her: there was a tiny feather and a bone left. It must have been one tasty bird.

 

[Renzatic]

That reminds me of the time Nefurtari came in with a small bird in her mouth. I told her, "good job – don't eat it in here," so she took it over by the back door. It was one of the most disgusting things I have ever listened to. When she was done, I went to clean up after her: there was a tiny feather and a bone left. It must have been one tasty bird.

Yeah, I love it when I find guts in the garage. It's weird how cats are picky eaters, yet will eat anything.