Sendhelp Posted March 2017
Caregiver's cats behaving badly.
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Does your Cat (or any pet) misbehave since caregiving your loved one?
Have you been required to take care of your loved one's pet after they have passed? Does your pet have cute antics that entertain your loved one?
And finally, has the cat or dog transferred their loyalty to your Mother?
One of my cat’s favorite spots was hiding inside a a paper grocery store bag! She would stay in there and peer out. It was so cute!
But he loves brown kraft paper, like the paper that Chewy uses for packing. I smooth it out with my hands, then I roll it up with the openings at both ends large enough for him to get into. That is his man cave. He will hide in it and wait for the other cat to walk by, then zoom out he comes and the race is on.
Or put out a pile of white tissue paper. Put a catnip toy under the crumble paper. The cat will jump into the paper, hide in it, crawl under it. But after a week, he will have that all shredded. Rinse. Repeat.
She is one of those cats who are not attracted by catnip. She gets more excited by lettuce lol. She did enjoy the laser light for a while till she figured out it was me moving it then that was game over. She loves little mouse type toys and also the cat springs/coils. After I have moved I will look for some new toys for her.
Once in a while she quite likes lying on my chest and watching the cursor move while I read or post with the laptop on my knees. Its a nice cuddle for me too.
I was running a stream of water for her in the downstairs bathroom when she wanted a drink but I forgot to turn it off a few times so now I have put a small bowl there and refresh the water a couple of times a day. They like fresh water. Spoiled kitty I know! She liked to dunk her head under the stream sometimes but she can do without that.
The other day she ate lettuce - the leafy part. She likes sweet potatoes and other veggies like corn on the cob.
This morning I was greeted with a "song" that I hadn't heard before. it as a combination of chirps, trills and a sort of tweet/gurgle https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7000907/.
It was very musical and the most complex I have heard from a cat.
I've given up with the laser light toy. She tracked it back to my hand and isn't interested any more. It's no good putting it away and trying later. She has a very good memory. Same problem with cat videos. There isn't that big a selection of really different ones and she is starting to lose interest. Fortunately she sleeps a lot - more than any other cat I have had.
Also fortunately she plays with toys on her own and sometimes brings them to me to throw for her to chase. It may be a bit of a challenge finding things for her to do in the condo. But she is a lovely pet and we are still developing our relationship.
My cat looked like your Lilah. We were blessed to have such sweet kitties.
I am getting the "death stare" It starts before 5 pm for her treats which I usually give her about 5:30 but I caved early tonight. Then she starts staring again wanting her computer time upstairs. If she keeps this up I will set up the computer with a cat video and let her have it early tonight all by herself. I've out stared her for now but we will see.
So much for routine!
As for vets. I'll tell you something that someone told me once. Those big, spacious veterinary offices that have all the gadgets and rooms for this and that and a huge staff are not always the best choice because being huge places they have huge bills to pay and therefore charge more and quite often are a lot more impersonal. When I had to have my Daniel put down I was very disappointed in the care he received. We eventually had him put down at an emergency vet hospital. But we have since found a nice vet. The place is small and old and thinly staffed but they are like family. We always stay and chat with them before we leave. When it's Henrick's time to go I'm sure they'll do us good.
Again, so sorry for your loss Ali.
The better part of love is the strength and compassion to act when our pets need us most.
Goodbye Lilah, sweet cat.
l wish we could post pictures of all of our fur babies on this site.
One of the cutest photos that I have of my cat was of her sitting inside of a grocery bag looking out! It was a favorite hideaway spot for her.
I accidentally dropped the bag on the floor and she got inside and turned around inside of it. She loved hanging out in bags. So funny!
Another time, I was getting socks from a drawer and I didn’t see that she jumped inside of it. I closed the drawer and she started meowing. I had no idea where she was.
I kept following her meowing and opened the drawer and she popped out of it like a Jack in the box!
She destroyed all of the satin balls on my Christmas tree one year! Yep, in the middle of the night when we were sleeping she jumped in the tree and had a blast playing with the balls! We came downstairs to red satin thread all over our living room floor!
I would love to hear stories about your Lilah when you feel like sharing.
Cats have the cutest personalities.
If you’re not satisfied with your vet’s service, don’t hesitate to look for a different vet.
It’s important to be comfortable with the vet who is treating your animals. Veterinary care is expensive. I didn’t have insurance for my pets. Some people do choose to purchase insurance for them. I suppose that you would have to research different policies.
I didn’t keep my pets cremains either. My daughter chose to keep her dog’s cremains. I know that she paid extra for them. She will most likely do the same thing with her current dog.
I loved all of my animals but I have no desire to have their cremains. I have nothing against anyone who does want them. It’s not something that I am interested in though.
I hold their memories in my heart. I don’t need their physical ashes in my home.
I'm not happy with my vet because I feel the signs of a growing stomach mass should have been evident to them. By the time she passed, Lilah looked awful with a volleyball belly, while the rest was bones.
I tried to find what was wrong with her a couple of times in the past six months and paid for labs, etc. But it was RIGHT THERE. I feel they should have been able to discern that her abdomen was tight and distended, with a few lumps in different places, while the rest of her was getting thinner.
I'm not putting any future pets or myself through subpar care again. And from what I read online, the $700 service fee today for basic euthanasia is too much. I would pay anything I could for my pets, of course. The issue is I think I have a lazy and too-expensive vet office. Appreciate any opinion you want to give.
*I've been rereading this thread today, remembering my own kitties' journeys and all of your pets, too—very sweet and funny stuff. I'm laughing a lot, thank you.
*As I went back to the bookmarked place in the thread history, I found my posts from the summer of 2021 when Divo had sores and an ER vet dx'd hyperthyroidism. And even though D had been to the regular vet many times, they never said anything about that. I answered my question here; thank you. I'm done with that vet.
I am so sorry that Lilah is gone. Cherish your memories. She will live in your heart forever.
I know that you will grieve. It’s so hard to lose our fur babies.
One thing we know, pets just don't live long enough. We enjoy them while we are blessed with them, mourn them when they are gone and rescue another to love and be loved by when the time is right.
She and you were blessed to be brought together.
Soooooo I'm awake at 3 am, just feeling so bad for her, but not in any shape to take her anywhere. I wish I had pushed harder for answers in previous vet appts. It may not have changed her course, but I could have been more prepared and had meds on hand. Tonight I noticed she has more than one bulge/mass area around her midsection. They're easily noticeable when I rub my hand along her sides... how did I miss them??! They must be growing quickly.
I sat by her and stroked her softly throughout the day and evening. I keep checking on her, but there's nothing to do except sit with her and try to comfort her. She seems to appreciate it. It's going to be a long night for me, and even longer for her, I think. She isn't sleeping. She's hurting, and I'm just so so so so so very dang sad about it.
My girl is going across the rainbow bridge very soon. Please wish her godspeed and an easy transition. I've been chatting to her about it, telling her it will be soon and telling her stories about what to expect. She might run into Divo, and they can be buddies again, or she'll make new sweet friends and leave that rascal with all the other bold, feisty kitties in pet heaven.
One Vet told me that an ill cat has a choice to either breathe or eat, they can't do both at once. Thus the cat will choose breathing. Even drinking water was difficult :(
Let us know what the Vet says.
Awwww…what a sweet vet.
I think that I must have sounded a bit neurotic to my vet when I said to him, I will pay any price for you to fix my cat.
He said that he would love to have been able to treat her but there wasn’t anything else that he could do. It was time for me to let go. Even though we know it’s time, it’s still so hard to lose them.
It is SO much sadder when you don't know WHY your fur baby is dying. Our vet was comforting when he said that we didn't want to cause Sherlock unnecessary discomfort by poking to find out whatcwas irretrievably wrong.
Big (((hugs))), Ali.
My older vet was not a friend of ours and he was great. He was knowledgeable and cared about the animals that he treated.
My latest vet is a friend of ours too. His girls went to school with our girls and we were always at each other’s houses. He’s also a fantastic vet. He sees my daughter’s dog. He has treated many of our fur babies.
I hope that you find a good vet soon. I know that you will keep looking. We want the best for our animals.