Official RJ Pet Thread

[nots]

ok i've realized home dialysis isn't something i can do for my cat. but not before i made myself look like an idiot thinking it was a possibility. even peritoneal dialysis isn't an option as it would probably be cruel and the catheter would probably get infected. also, animal dialysis clinics was a stupid idea. i'll have to help her cross the rainbow bridge. im still kind of surprised tufts shot me down for professional dialysis.

I'm sorry, Nullie--your love for your cat is obviously very deep.

[heyelander]

ok i've realized home dialysis isn't something i can do for my cat. but not before i made myself look like an idiot thinking it was a possibility. even peritoneal dialysis isn't an option as it would probably be cruel and the catheter would probably get infected. also, animal dialysis clinics was a stupid idea. i'll have to help her cross the rainbow bridge. im still kind of surprised tufts shot me down for professional dialysis.

Never an idiot for caring. I'm sorry is has come to this. Your cat is very lucky to have someone who loves her so.

[nullnor]

i do have a great relationship with one of the main doctors. she actually acts like my cat is hers. it's weird, but she's seen my cat a lot. ...so going crazy isn't actually an option for me really. this vet is very smart. she has a lot of good work to give. i got drunk and hurt her feelings and apologized the next day(when i was on my dialysis rant). she did actually miss the original hyperthyroidism 5 years ago. that's a long time. and i've made more mistakes than that. i almost think she might even want to go out with me is i wasn't such a loser.

but's that not the point. the point is that taking care of something smaller than me gives me purpose. it makes me care about something more than myself. i mean, that's a good thing right?

[baldgriff]

dude - ask her out ------

[Fresno Bob]

dude - ask her out ------

shower with hot water first

[nullnor]

we put a feeding tube in my cats neck. take a 5 oz hill's k/d and add 30 ml's of water and blend. i take 50 mls of that and 2 other syringes with 20 mls of just water in each. i give 20 mls of water first, which also flushes out the tubes over at least 5 minutes. slower you go the better. then the 50 ml of food over at least 10 minutes. (vets feed too fast tho, it takes me 20-30 min) then i give what meds, phosphorus binder, pepcid ac, lisinopril, amlodipine. then the other 20 ml of just water, make sure the tube is clear. it's actually not hard. cats don't seem to mind the feeding tube.

i keep an eye on my pet. anemia is a problem. we had the blood transfusion but, she was trying to eat the clay litter before and still is(rbc went from 18 to 14 then back to 18). pica. her prognosis is remarkably poor. creatinine from 9 down to 6.5 after the first hospitalization, then from 18 (BUN 247) to 10 after the second 3-4 weeks later means she should be puking everything, sleeping all the time, or worse.

but she's very stoic. and i spent 6,000 for those 2 hospitalizations so she's still not suffering yet. if she could speak right now she'd probably say to me that she understands it's important for me to try to help her like this even tho it's futile. the vets stated that they are only doing this to keep her comfortable while i prepare to say goodbye to her in the next 2 weeks.

i imagine some of them, if not all of them, are are learning the tools of their trade in a slightly different way because of me. even tho their bedside manners still suck. but then who's doesn't.

[nullnor]

when i was younger, one of the obstacles i had when trying to imagine heaven was that ppl would look like they did after they died. for example, if you died after your parents, you would look older than them in the afterlife. and to a mortal mind that doesn't make sense.

but if matter and energy are equivalent in our universe, perhaps it's an example that it's doesn't matter later. heh. something conscious in the form of energy might be beautiful.

the thing about life, and a lot of things is that you don't realize how important it is until you have to fight for it. as academic as that is, i don't think that's even something robert frost, dylan thomas or h. g. wells realized they they wrote snowy evening, rage against the falling light, and the time machine.

[Gregg]

when i was younger, one of the obstacles i had when trying to imagine heaven was that ppl would look like they did after they died. for example, if you died after your parents, you would look older than them in the afterlife. and to a mortal mind that doesn't make sense.

but if matter and energy are equivalent in our universe, perhaps it's an example that it's doesn't matter later. heh. something conscious in the form of energy might be beautiful.

the thing about life, and a lot of things is that you don't realize how important it is until you have to fight for it. as academic as that is, i don't think that's even something robert frost, dylan thomas or h. g. wells realized they they wrote snowy evening, rage against the falling light, and the time machine.

We get new perfected bodies in Heaven. We do not get stuck with the body we have when we leave here.

[nullnor]

We get new perfected bodies in Heaven. We do not get stuck with the body we have when we leave here.

did you read that somewhere in the bible? why would you use the word perfected? i know it's not meant in a vanity way. or is it one of those things where perfection and infallibility can't be explained.

today, we are matter tho. so whats the perfect state of matter? if energy is the perfect state of matter, then whats the perfect state of energy? clues. when one proceeds there has to be one left behind to help you. every clue that we need is inside this reality. if we don't proceed to the afterlife then there is a clue for that. and if we do, there's one for that too. and there has to be more than one clue or example for the other examples, whether it's science or religion.

when something is large or big, there's never only one path leading to it.

[nullnor]

part of the problem with explaining the universe is that it's filled with infinities. every cosmologist or particle physicist that ever tried to quantify the probability that something particular will happen is always faced with the ultimate conundrum of dividing infinity by infinity.

the problem with energy equaling mass if that you can add mass to matter from adding energy to it. and when your multiplier is the speed of light, that's a lot. so just by simply expanding the universe, you're adding energy and mass and matter. im speculative on the inflationary theory of the universe, but everything started from just an atom, and such spec of matter doubled (binarily) in size every time it expanded, from 1, 2, 4, 8, 16 etc.. until after 274 times such a seed would have weighed more than all the matter in our observable universe combined.

it's like being in school and having a child ask you if space goes on forever. scientists would love to be able to get rid of these infinities. it would certainly make their job a lot easier, but the universe isn't built like that or the job of figuring that out.

but that's only the first step or clue. which makes the bible, with 2000 plus years of clues impressive.

if you were to study religion for the past 8000 years, and science for the last 200, you'd be a lot farther along than a lot of people stuck just trying to understand the message in only one of them.

[Judge Jude]

Nullnor, your big heart shines through in your messages. Godspeed for all of your future.

Oddly, I was reminded of this thread because my cat that led to my starting this thread is still standing - well, right now sleeping blissfully next to my left foot as I type.

His diabetes has been managed fairly well with a daily shot, and my vet who lives 5 mins away has a staff that is always thrilled to see him - even at 15 1/2, he remains charismatic as ever.

His time will come, as it comes for for us all. I just want to say I feel blessed and inspired by many posts here, and I want to thank you for that. And I know my cat would, too.

[Mithrandir]

My 13 year old cat has been losing weight for the last month or so. Took her to the vet yesterday and awaiting results of blood work today. Initial thought after exam is either thyroid issue or lymphoma as she had either a swollen thyroid gland or lymph node and vet wasn't 100% certain which one was swollen. No other lymph nodes were swollen.

[nullnor]

My 13 year old cat has been losing weight for the last month or so. Took her to the vet yesterday and awaiting results of blood work today. Initial thought after exam is either thyroid issue or lymphoma as she had either a swollen thyroid gland or lymph node and vet wasn't 100% certain which one was swollen. No other lymph nodes were swollen.

if it's hyperthyroidism you should start the dosage of methimazole slowly or they will scratch the fur off the top of their head. if the t4 value is high you can't start them right off at 5mgs. you have to go 2.5mg for 1-2 weeks than 5mg then 7mg etc.. but i would just get the radio iodine treatment. although methimazole works great once it's ok. i never did have to go above 5mgs tho. hyperthyroidsm will mask kidney disease, so they'll want to control the hyperthyroidsm first to see where the kidneys are at. if this turns out to be the situation, i can give you pretty good idea about things based on the values.

[Judge Jude]

just bumping out of admiration for the feisty cat for whom this thread was started 10 months ago.

he's sitting on my lap purring as I type this!

he won't last forever, but thanks for all the advice and wisdom here that will serve me well.

7 ccs of insulin seems to be the magic number. he still is grouchy on certain days (just like old people), but mostly he's good. wakes us up ny 7 am, but Mrs Judge has to be up by then anyway. his moves are: sleep on a pad next to my left foot while I'm on the computer, sit on my lap during same, walk out to kitchen for water/food/litter box. Rinse and repeat, with the occasional bearhug from Mrs Judge.

come to think of it, he wasn't THAT much more active 10 years ago, lol. he's shooting for age 16 in July, with his female litter sibling.

perk of being old: main thing he likes to eat is one of those Whiskas Temptations treats, Catnip flavor (it's not actually catnip). It's supposed to be an occasional treat, but the vet said at this point, as long as he eats.... and the green poop in the litter box each day is his proof in the pudding, so to speak. he likes chomping on the food as he eats it.

[TranaGreg]

well since this has turned into the all-things-cat-related thread, thought I'd mention my cat's exploits of the past week.

We live in a 3 story open concept loft. The 3rd floor is our master bedroom/bathroom/closet, which we had painted last week (13 ft high ceilings with skylights makes for a pretty challenging paint job, so we contracted the job out). Anyway, the first night the painters put plastic across the top of the stairway railing to close off this area. Our cat, 7 year-old Molly, decides at 11:30 at night to try walking on it, which of course she falls through, all the way to the 1st floor, inches past my nose as I'm standing on the stairs. With our high ceilings it was roughly a 30 foot drop, maybe a bit more, onto a hardwood floor. Result (learned after a trip to the all-night emerg pet clinic + several regular vet trips last week) - 4 broken ribs, a ruptured lung, and a split incisor into her gum.

The first couple of days she barely moved, sleeping in a long straight line (very unusual). We've had her on pain meds + antibiotics ... by the 4th day she was sleeping a bit more normally; by day 6 curled up like she used to, and even trying small jumps (ie onto the bed). Today, day 9, and she's almost back to normal - today she jumped to the window ledge & down, a 4-5 foot jump which has gotta hurt with a few cracked ribs (they were clearly very cracked on the xray - I have a hard time believing they're fully healed in 9 days).

Cats are indeed crazy resilient.