Cat Behaviour Maven

Well it’s been over five months and Sophie is still with us.  We took her to the vet a couple of weeks ago and her blood numbers have improved which was a surprise.

The vet ask that she be be put on the floor so he could see how she was walking.  What a surprise when she ran across the room into her carrier.    Since we first brought her back from the hospital her eyes were round and seemed to be protruding almost like bug eyes. I thought it might be a sign of stress.  Today I noticed that her eyes looked normal.  She’s getting around the house and jumping on the bed with out any problem.

When she first got sick the vet didn’t offer us much hope but encouraged us to try.  It’s been challenging with hydration three days on and one day off. Keeping her on her special diet with two other cats on normal diets around has been interesting. The vet said it was an extraordinary effort.  We don’t see it that way.  We knew we didn’t have a choice and we know we will do what we have to do to keep her with us.

We know very well that everything can change in a minute but we feel very blessed to have her still with us.

My wife and I have always been dog people and when confronted with cats were always amazed why anyone would want to be with one of these non-social, independent animals. When we moved into our home we decided it was time to get a dog.  That is until Flash showed up.  Flash was a neighbors cat who had been displaced when her caregiver allowed friends with their two dogs to move in after the Northridge earthquake.  Flash then started hanging out in our back yard, usually keeping cool by laying on the divider wall between the pool and spa.  Every now and then her care giver would come by and retrieve her but within a day or so she would be back.  Eventually they stopped coming by.

My wife had developed a very good relationship with Flash and started reading up on cats. We realized it was not a good idea to let a cat run free and decided to bring Flash indoors as much as possible. She got out occasionally but always came  back.  We began to understand the allure of being with a cat.  Unfortunately we were too late getting Flash indoors and got our first lesson in cat health and how to protect a cat. After a while we noticed that Flash was having problems getting around and wasn’t looking too good.  A trip to the vet confirmed that she had become infected with feline leukemia. The prognosis was not good and we knew time was short.  If we learned anything being with Flash it was that pets should be kept out of harms way.  They need to be kept indoors away from sick animals, vehicles, mean people and other dangers. Indoor cats live considerably longer than outdoor cats.

Some months after the diagnosis Flash crossed the rainbow bridge.  It was devastating. We had truly come to love this little creature but the die was cast.  We now understood why people love cats. Within a week of losing our beloved Flash we contacted a local cat rescue and met our current number one cat Sadie.  See our About Us page for pictures of  the family.

More on the other members of our family in future articles.

Sophie

Well Sophie has been home for about three weeks now and things are doing OK.   We started doing hydration three days on, one day off. We mentioned to the vet that Sophie was not standing well and he suggested we bring in one of her hydration bags so he could add some potassium to give her some strength.

We brought her back to the vet a week later for a check up and blood tests.  Things looked pretty stable but she was becoming anemic.  The doctor prescribed Procrit to help generate red blood cells.  This is a human hormone and can have it’s own challenges but he felt the risk is worth it.  I give her an injection twice a week using a small insulin needle.  I feel bad because the poor girl must feel like a pin cushion.

She’s getting around well and is able to jump up on the bed with little trouble.  She is eating well and seem to be filling out a little.  We know this is a day to day blessing but every day with her is one great day for us.