Official RJ Pet Thread

[johnnya24]

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.

This is why I've always said that we should be using cats for cosmetic trials and not primates.

[heyelander]

30 feet is a bad area for cats. Studies have shown that cats that fall from greater than 6 stories fair better than cats that fall from 2-5. Survival rate of cats falling from between 2-32 stories is 90%.

http://www.petplace.com/cats/highrise-syndrome-in-cats/page1.aspx

As you would guess, high-rise syndrome is more common in urban settings. Studies done on cats that have fallen from 2 to 32 stories show that the overall survival rate is a surprising 90 percent. Strangely, cats that fall from a height under 6 stories have more severe trauma than those that fall from over 6 stories. One theory is that cats reach terminal velocity at about 5 stories, and at this point they relax, allowing a more distributed force of impact and less severe injuries. When cats land before reaching top speed, they are rigid and flexed and prepared for the landing. This results in most of the force impacting the parts of the body that hit initially.

[johnnya24]

30 feet is a bad area for cats. Studies have shown that cats that fall from greater than 6 stories fair better than cats that fall from 2-5. Survival rate of cats falling from between 2-32 stories is 90%.

http://www.petplace.com/cats/highris...ats/page1.aspx

So what you are saying is that we should be using cats as crash test dummies as well as cosmetic guinea pigs?

[Fresno Bob]

This is why I've always said that we should be using cats for cosmetic trials and not primates.

I thought that most cosmetic tests were done on rabbits

[heyelander]

So what you are saying is that we should be using cats as crash test dummies as well as cosmetic guinea pigs?

only if you are willing to assume that passengers in cars will relax before a crash once they attain terminal velocity.

[johnnya24]

I thought that most cosmetic tests were done on rabbits

That's alright then.

[TranaGreg]

30 feet is a bad area for cats. Studies have shown that cats that fall from greater than 6 stories fair better than cats that fall from 2-5. Survival rate of cats falling from between 2-32 stories is 90%.

http://www.petplace.com/cats/highris...ats/page1.aspx

Interesting, and consistent with my observation. As I said, she flew right past my nose so I got a pretty good look at her positioning just before impact. While she was oriented correctly her legs were not elongated/stretched out; it was more like she was in a crouch position, as she would be if she was trying to climb under something low. Not surprising that she broke 4 ribs & collapsed a lung ... it's actually surprising she didn't do more damage.

[Judge Jude]

wow, another miracle cat!

Mine has been doing a weird thing after eating hard food - sort of like baring a fang, or trying to gnaw on something that doesn't exist.

Turns out his teeth are getting pretty bad, so sometimes it's an annoyance. But the vet said that cats and dogs don't care - they keep eating anyway. He said one dog had to have all of his teeth removed because they were so damaged, but he kept eating food by gumming it. some sort of 'survival in the wild' primal thing, he said. Vet added that cats and dogs don't seem to recognize pain from tooth damage, or something like that.

Meanwhile, my little battler here has gained 6 ounces after slipping to 8 pounds on the nose. He's gotten more interested in the canned food again, while still eating as much of the hard stuff....

[TranaGreg]

if there are any cat owners who haven't seen this yet, you must.

http://youtu.be/PKffm2uI4dk

[Judge Jude]

Happy 16th birthday to Murph the wonder cat, the thread's title character 14 months ago!


He now needs less insulin than last year (6 cc vs 10) and his appetite is excellent but not crazed.
He gained almost 2 lbs from his low point, and just needed a little dental work after a piece of one of the teeth broke off.
diabetes, snagglepuss, kidney issues and a heart murmur - none of it keeping the little fella down!

he's probably gone from 40 pct of the cat he used to be to 80 pct - would be 90 except he's old. but jumps up on the bed, likes to be a lap cat, wanders around curiously, and still loves chasing the flashlight shadow.

and sleeping.

EDIT: Oh yeah, his sister turned 16 as well. Her name is Tabitha, but the way we mention her in passing, her nickname is "..... and Tab."

She's the Cooper Manning of her cat family.

[Wonderboy]

Happy 16th birthday to Murph the wonder cat, the thread's title character 14 months ago!

Excellent. Our guy held out about 3 months longer than he was given, and was in good health and spirits right until the last few days. It makes a difference and gives you time to appreciate them and prepare yourself mentally. I am glad this worked out.

[heyelander]

Happy Birthday to Murph and Tabitha.

L the diabetic cat turns 10 on wednesday.

[overkill94]

Sorry to dig up bad memories for anyone, but my pup is not doing well at all. She's only 6 but within months of getting her from a rescue shelter four years ago she was having back problems. Luckily, those incidents cleared up after a few days' worth of pain pills and muscle relaxers. Unfortunately, about a week and a half ago she started having neck issues which put her in a lot of pain very quickly. After a day's worth of limited movement and eventually heart-wrenching cries, I took her to the emergency vet. They pinpointed the pain to her neck and gave me more pain pills and anti-inflammatories, but it didn't seem to help a whole lot. In fact, she seemed to be getting worse, so on Friday I took her into her regular vet and he basically gave the same diagnosis and prescribed some medication that was easier for her to swallow. Although she miraculously seemed to be a bit better after the vet, she quickly devolved back to limited mobility and diminished appetite (her explosive diarrhea from the switch to wet food probably didn't help). Anyway, I just got back from a quick little 2-day work trip and she's worse than ever. At this point, I've already spent a few hundred dollars on meds and vet visits and they're saying that x-rays alone will be about $500, not to mention the almost inevitable $5-10K surgery that would be necessary. I've already talked it over with my girlfriend and although we love our dog to death, we just can't justify spending that type of money for a pet. Question is, when do you say enough is enough? The expensive x-ray could only reveal bad news and the dog's giving me that look that she can't take it anymore. I'm supposed to head up to my parents' place this weekend but I don't want to take the dog if she's just going to be a screaming mess the whole time. I plan on taking her to the vet one more time to truly exhaust my options, but is it callous to throw in the towel this early if the diagnosis isn't good? I hate that money is a factor, but honestly I can't watch her suffer anymore.

[TranaGreg]

wow, that a real tough one. reality is that money is indeed a factor. I guess this ends up an extremely personal decision, one which you will have to be able to accept after the fact - balancing the money consideration, the animal's quality of life (current and future), and your personal willingness to go into potentially a very large amount of debt (for both of you). It's a very emotional, personal decision, and an extremely difficult one. re: the x-ray, it sounds like all it would do is confirm what you already know - unless there's the potential for some unforeseen cause that could be addressed without surgery? what are the vets saying?

Not sure any of this is helpful ... good luck whichever way you decide.

[nullnor]

even if you know what you think your going to have to do, i'd at least find out exactly what the medical problem is. is it a slipped disk, an injured spine, or is it simply a pinched nerve. $500 seems expensive for xrays. shouldn't it be like $350. the emergency ppl should've done that the first time and saved you guys an additional trip. as far as i know dachshunds are the only dog predisposed to slipped disks. so if it's now that type of dog, i wouldn't immediately believe it could be that. for example when my cat obliterated one of her disks, tufts thought it happened the way it happens to dachshunds. which is impossible for a cat.

if you put it down without knowing whats really wrong.. at least if you spend the $500 you can look back and say you made the most informed decision possible.

btw the anti-inflammatory drug Rimadyl for dogs seems above average dangerous for them. (if thats what they are using)

Pfizer Settles Lawsuit Over Dog's Death from Rimadyl

http://gacolake.com/articles/2788-pfizer-settles-lawsuit-over-dogs-death-from-rimadyl.html

good luck.