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Internet to the Vet
Internet is 20 now (well, we really don't know for sure; he's somewhere
between 18 and 22, so I went with the middle age), and he is bound to have some problems. He already has an enlarged heart and asthma. He's had a pretty much chronic URI all his life that nothing will end entirely, in spite of trying everything in the book (steam was the thing that brought it from a scary level to a 'can-live-with-it' level). Lately, he's been sneezing and hacking more than normal. And I was getting very worried. So, off to the vet we went. On the bus. I've run out of friends with cars, or friends have run out of cars, or both. I have one friend with a car, it seems, and she had already run me to PetSmart to get food and litter. So she had done her helpful deed for the month. As Internet is easygoing (not that he likes travel on wheels, like all True Cats* ;-), and it was a beautiful, sunny, warm day, I decided the only option I had was to take him on The Bus. Not just one bus, mind you, but three -- each way. I had fallen the weekend of the Stealing of the Lilies episode, and wrenched my shoulder. The cats had decided the cloth carrier (forgotten under a table) was a great place to poop and pee (grrrrrr), and no matter what, one washing was not going to clean it, and I couldn't throw it in the dryer. So I had to take a plastic carrier. I knew I couldn't carry it all that way without doing some major damage to my arm/shoulder. Inspiration hit me, and I got out the very small, light carrier doo-dad my physical therapist had given me at the time of the move. It's very lightweight, foldable, and easy to use. So I latched the carrier on to that with bungee cords, and tried not to tilt it very far. It's amusing to take a cat on buses and watch peoples' reactions. Some, the Obviously NOT Cat People, do not look at you or the carrier at all, but merely frown. Others aren't sure what to think, and you can catch a curious glance or a half-smile out of the corner of your eye. Then there are the Cat People, of course, who cannot help but have big grins on their faces, and do everything possible to get a good look inside the carrier, while whispering "hi, kitty", before launching into questions about the name and age and all that of the cat. The bus drivers, of course, all look like they want to strangle me, but know darn well animals in carriers *are* allowed on buses. At any rate, we lucked out on the buses and caught them just right, so it took a little over 2 hours to get there, as opposed to the not-lucking-out time of over 3 hours. Dr. Jenne say him this time (I've kept running into Dr. Miley at all my last visits for some reason). I like them both, but it was nice to see Dr. Jenne for a change. He was thoroughly checked out, and Internet being Internet, he was a sweet, easy, good boy for the doctor and Alice the whole time, even when blood was drawn. The most worrisome thing to the vet was that he has lost a lb. and a half since last August. So we had to do thyroid and diabetes checks. His appetite is still excellent, so he didn't think cancer or kidneys were involved. Had to wait for the test results, but they came out fine. Big sigh, big relief. He thinks it's old age, basically, and that I should put him on a better, high caloric-intake food (of course, I just switched them to the cheaper stuff. Sigh. I can't win.). I do have Cosmo on Purina One kidney because he has CRF, and has had for nearly 8 years now. The rest I've been giving Friskies cheaper-than-anything-but-Dad's food. It's dyed, they puke more, their poops stink more; I hate this. But I am hoping it is just temporary. I don't think a few months of Friskies will kill them. At any rate, they recommended Purina One as being okay to give him, the Indoor formula or just the regular Adult. I got him the regular Adult, since it looked better in terms of calories and protein than the Indoor, and I'm introducing it to him slowly. Hopefully I can get some weight back on him; he's always been a little guy, but right now he's only 7-1/2 lbs. :-( At least it wasn't anything major, so that is a huge relief! Ginger-lyn *Sabra was a True Cat, but he loved travel. Go figure. |
#2
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Internet to the Vet
Ginger-lyn wrote:
Internet is 20 now (well, we really don't know for sure; he's somewhere between 18 and 22, so I went with the middle age), and he is bound to have some problems. He already has an enlarged heart and asthma. He's had a pretty much chronic URI all his life that nothing will end entirely, in spite of trying everything in the book (steam was the thing that brought it from a scary level to a 'can-live-with-it' level). Lately, he's been sneezing and hacking more than normal. And I was getting very worried. So, off to the vet we went. On the bus. I've run out of friends with cars, or friends have run out of cars, or both. I have one friend with a car, it seems, and she had already run me to PetSmart to get food and litter. So she had done her helpful deed for the month. As Internet is easygoing (not that he likes travel on wheels, like all True Cats* ;-), and it was a beautiful, sunny, warm day, I decided the only option I had was to take him on The Bus. Not just one bus, mind you, but three -- each way. I had fallen the weekend of the Stealing of the Lilies episode, and wrenched my shoulder. The cats had decided the cloth carrier (forgotten under a table) was a great place to poop and pee (grrrrrr), and no matter what, one washing was not going to clean it, and I couldn't throw it in the dryer. So I had to take a plastic carrier. I knew I couldn't carry it all that way without doing some major damage to my arm/shoulder. Inspiration hit me, and I got out the very small, light carrier doo-dad my physical therapist had given me at the time of the move. It's very lightweight, foldable, and easy to use. So I latched the carrier on to that with bungee cords, and tried not to tilt it very far. It's amusing to take a cat on buses and watch peoples' reactions. Some, the Obviously NOT Cat People, do not look at you or the carrier at all, but merely frown. Others aren't sure what to think, and you can catch a curious glance or a half-smile out of the corner of your eye. Then there are the Cat People, of course, who cannot help but have big grins on their faces, and do everything possible to get a good look inside the carrier, while whispering "hi, kitty", before launching into questions about the name and age and all that of the cat. The bus drivers, of course, all look like they want to strangle me, but know darn well animals in carriers *are* allowed on buses. At any rate, we lucked out on the buses and caught them just right, so it took a little over 2 hours to get there, as opposed to the not-lucking-out time of over 3 hours. Dr. Jenne say him this time (I've kept running into Dr. Miley at all my last visits for some reason). I like them both, but it was nice to see Dr. Jenne for a change. He was thoroughly checked out, and Internet being Internet, he was a sweet, easy, good boy for the doctor and Alice the whole time, even when blood was drawn. The most worrisome thing to the vet was that he has lost a lb. and a half since last August. So we had to do thyroid and diabetes checks. His appetite is still excellent, so he didn't think cancer or kidneys were involved. Had to wait for the test results, but they came out fine. Big sigh, big relief. He thinks it's old age, basically, and that I should put him on a better, high caloric-intake food (of course, I just switched them to the cheaper stuff. Sigh. I can't win.). I do have Cosmo on Purina One kidney because he has CRF, and has had for nearly 8 years now. The rest I've been giving Friskies cheaper-than-anything-but-Dad's food. It's dyed, they puke more, their poops stink more; I hate this. But I am hoping it is just temporary. I don't think a few months of Friskies will kill them. At any rate, they recommended Purina One as being okay to give him, the Indoor formula or just the regular Adult. I got him the regular Adult, since it looked better in terms of calories and protein than the Indoor, and I'm introducing it to him slowly. Hopefully I can get some weight back on him; he's always been a little guy, but right now he's only 7-1/2 lbs. :-( At least it wasn't anything major, so that is a huge relief! Ginger-lyn *Sabra was a True Cat, but he loved travel. Go figure. Purrs coming for Internet's recovery. Sam, supervised by Mistletoe |
#3
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Internet to the Vet
Purrs for Internet to be feeling better soon. Debbie On Apr 10, 5:20*pm, Ginger-lyn wrote: Internet is 20 now (well, we really don't know for sure; he's somewhere between 18 and 22, so I went with the middle age), and he is bound to have some problems. *He already has an enlarged heart and asthma. *He's had a pretty much chronic URI all his life that nothing will end entirely, in spite of trying everything in the book (steam was the thing that brought it from a scary level to a 'can-live-with-it' level). Lately, he's been sneezing and hacking more than normal. *And I was getting very worried. *So, off to the vet we went. *On the bus. snip... Ginger-lyn *Sabra was a True Cat, but he loved travel. *Go figure. |
#4
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Internet to the Vet
Purrs and gentle headbutts on the way for Internet to feel better and
have many more years with you. Julie, Hobbes, Lacey, Sam and Barnabus |
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