She doesn’t seem to overeat, but it is hard to get her to go outside and run around the yard. She is a lazy dog. If we’d let her, she’s sleep all day like a cat.
But, Sheila is a very sweet dog. She's come a long way since we got her. We have to remember that we don't know what happened to her before we got her. It's taking patience, but it's paying off I think. We don't regret bringing her home with us.
LexiLexi, our long haired calico, was sneezing and coughing and was really congested. We waited to see if it got better. She didn’t stop eating and seemed normal every other way. After a couple of weeks, when it wasn’t any better, we took her to the vet to have her checked out.
They did a full blood panel on her. Since her mom, Jezibel, and sister, Ellie, have asthma and are on Torbutaline, we thought that maybe Lexi might also have asthma. The doctor put her on antibiotics to see if the cold symptoms went away. If they didn’t, we would try the Torbutaline.
A couple of days after the blood work, we received a call from the doctor. It was discovered that Lexi has hyperthyroidism. She will have to go on medication for it. At her checkup, she had lost a pound. We had been aware that she was coming in to eat at every meal, whereas before, she usually just ate dry food. That’s usually one of the symptoms of hyperthyroidism. Lexi was eating more, but was not gaining weight. In fact, she had lost weight.
Years ago when Calvin had hyperthyroidism, we had him on the pill form of Tapazole. At the time, it was very hard to get the right dosage. I can’t remember what dosage we started him on, but every few weeks we had to take him in for a blood test to see if his thyroid levels were lower. It seemed like we could never get it right.
I think he was on medication for three or four years. He maintained his weight most of the time, but gradually started losing and never really could maintain again. He died quietly in his sleep Thanksgiving weekend of 2004. His heart just stopped. By that time he had gotten to the point where he wasn’t really eating much and he threw up a lot.
In hindsight, I think Grady may have also had hyperthyroidism. He was so ravenous at each meal and ate well, but never gained weight. He looked good, he seemed happy, but I always thought he was too thin. Of course, we didn’t get a blood panel done because he seemed healthy otherwise.
The last night I gave him dinner, he ate every bite and he curled up in his bed and died peacefully in his sleep. If he had hyperthyroidism, we didn’t know it. I’ve read since that any cat over 8 years of age should get full blood panels. This thyroid condition usually occurs in older cats. Grady was 9 years old when he died.
From the internet: Elevated thyroid hormone levels cause increased metabolism and the other common clinical signs of hyperthyroidism: weight loss, appetite changes, increased water consumption, vomiting, diarrhea, rapid heart rate, heart murmur, elevated blood pressure, increased vocalization, muscle weakness and poor haircoat, although not every cat experiences all of these symptoms. Hyperthyroidism tends to be a gradual onset disorder, with many cats losing weight slowly over several months or a few years.
If left untreated, the increased metabolism will eventually cause organ failure (heart, kidney, blindness due to retinal detachment) and premature death.
Lexi has lost weight, she’s eating more than before, and she’d drinking more water. Poor little thing. I can’t say she has poor haircoat now, at least from the thyroid condition. Back in April we took her to be groomed and agreed to have her fur shaved. We were a little shocked when we picked her up. She was completely shaved except for her legs, head and tail. She actually got a poodle cut I think. So, she looked pretty pitiful for a few months, but her long hair is coming back and she looks good now. Of course, we will never do that again to her.
The medication we will be giving to Lexi is Methimazole (Tapazole) in the gel form. We get it from a pharmacy in Arizona. It will be applied inside her ear, once a day for seven days. This is to see if she is going to have any side effects like loss of appetite, lethargy, vomiting, and a few others which are possible. If she doesn’t have any problem, we will apply the gel twice a day and then after six weeks, she will go in for a blood test to check her thyroid levels.
I’m hoping that we can get her regulated and she will be with us for as long as she can. She’s 11 years old now and will be 12 in March.
Jezibel and her kittens are our oldest cats now. She’s 12 and her “kittens” are 11. She was only 6 months old when she had the kittens. Besides Lexi, we have Mr. Creme and Ellie. Like older people, older cats and dogs have health problems too. We will always do the best that we can for them to keep them comfortable in their old age.
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Now for the latest on the mother cat and little kittens from the firewood pile:
Last Wednesday night, we moved them upstairs into a room so they would have more space and we’d be able to interact with them more.
First, we had to kitten-proof the daybed in the room. We didn’t want them to be able to get between the trundle bed and the top mattress, or behind the bed. It would be impossible to get them out. It has worked out fine. They love the cat tree and spend their time in it.
PrincessPrincess, the mom, is starting to accept her new life, I think. She was very restless the first night that she was in the room. I was concerned that she would try to scratch at the screen in the window, so I just had the window cracked a couple of inches. Most of her time was spent on the cat tree, staring out the window. I can only imagine that she was yearning to be roaming the streets back in the old neighborhood with her kittens’ dad, Studdly (appropriately named by Greg).
When the cats were still in the 4x4x6 kennel in the garage, Karen came over to see them. It was very obvious that Princess recognized Karen when she came in. She also knew her voice. Princess acted as if she wanted to get out of the kennel and had not been doing that before. It was as if she wanted to go with Karen because she associated her with the backyard that she had been coming to when her kittens were in the woodpile and she was caring for them. It was just amazing to watch this little cat act like her “owner” was there to take her home.
After Karen left, she settled back down. She did not act like that again and did not try to get out of the kennel, like she had when Karen was standing outside of it.
Now, upstairs in the room, Princess is never at the door trying to escape. She’s very calm. When I go in, I always pick her up and hold her. She usually lets me hold her for a minute or two before she starts to want down. But, she has never scratched me or even put her claws out. I don’t try to hold her when she wants down.
Three little angel kittensEach night I have been bringing a kitten downstairs to sit on my lap while I watch TV. I have a little pink blanket that I wrap them in. After all, they are all girls.
I have been letting everyone know about these kittens. I’d love to find a good home for them. They are so small right now, but they are eating on their own and using the litter box. I think they are very smart.
We were downstairs last night watching TV and we could hear them playing upstairs. Charlie couldn’t believe that they could make that much noise. I assured him that they could. I kept going up and checking on them. Princess was playing too. When I go into the room, Princess acts like she’s “the adult”, but, I know she does play because I’ve seen her.
I play music for the cats in their room. It’s a CD that I bought a few years back and it’s very soothing to listen to. It’s called “Pet Music - Peaceful Playground”. I used to play it when I was in the yard with our cats. I was naive enough to think that it would settle them down. Of course, it didn’t work for them. They hated each other and were totally unaware of any soothing music that was playing. I always liked it though and I still do. I think it settled me down.
When I go into the room, it’s nice to see Princess curled up with one or two of her kittens and the soft music is playing. It might just be me, but I think music does have a soothing effect on her and her kittens.
More later..........
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