is anything happening here?? I ppop by, butnothing changesCats are like Potato Chips - you can't have just one
Hi Sheila!
Posted by Pat B. on 10/25/2023, 6:50 am, in reply to "Hello"
I know!
Sara is hanging in there. She still goes to her chiro appointments, and they still seem to help, although after this last one I don't see it as much. I was thinking - watching her move the other day - it's sort of like watching a little old lady who is still getting around okay, but is moving a little slower, and is a little bit hunched over, moving in a self-protective kind of way.
I started doubling up her Cosequin for Cats (just started that last week) to see if that has any effect. My vet has mentioned pain meds a couple of times, but I really don't want to start down that road until and unless I really have to.
The chiro and I talked about it at our last visit, and as long as Sara is still active (she is), eating (she is) and showing interest in daily activities (she is), then she's probably not at a level of pain that calls for ongoing medication. I think before I'd go that route, I'd shorten up on the length of time between chiro visits.
But that has a cost, too, and I'm not a bottomless well of money. So I guess that if at some point more frequent chiro visits were getting too expensive and didn't seem to be doing much, that might be when I'd look into meds.
My vet has talked about a new class of meds that came out of the same kind of research that led to some of the treatments for Covid - monoclonal antibodies. That didn't seem to make sense to me, so I Googled it. And I guess they can interrupt a neural pathway that transmits pain signals. Interesting. But again, not cheap. I do have pet insurance, but there's a pretty big deductible that has to be met first, and then ongoing copays. I got it mostly to be prepared so that I'd never again be faced with the kinds of costs I had when Glory got her breast cancer. It would have been REALLY helpful for that. But for ongoing pain meds, just a dent. (Her chiro visits are covered, but all her visits this year haven't even met the deductible yet, for one example.)
Kira, in the meantime, is as sweet and lovable as ever. She and Sara still play, but it's short bouts, and without much - if any - running.
I really don't know what I'd do without them!
Hi Pat
Posted by Sheila in SA on 10/25/2023, 7:35 am, in reply to "Hi Sheila!"
good to see you. I understand your worry about pain meds and you are doing what you think is best for Kira, which is all that any of us can do - we know our pets best. I hope she continues for a long time yet.
I had to take Cleo to the vet this week. she's the old lady I adopted when she was 14 and going to be sent to the SPCA. Of course I could get Insurance for such an old cat. I was worried because she wasn't peeing. All my vet could find was an infection in the bladder, so she is on antibiotics for two weeks, then I take her back for a re-check. She is not very agile, as I think she was born with slightly deformed legs but she manages to get on the bed to snuggle at night. She's 16 or 17 now Pixie is a great little dog - keeps ME moving. I hurt my knee after a bad fall some weeks ago, but it is slowly getting better. Everything goes slowly at my age LOLCats are like Potato Chips - you can't have just one
Hope Cleo feels better...nm
Posted by Barbara on 11/5/2023, 4:49 pm, in reply to "Hi Pat"
nm
What's that old saying?
Posted by Pat B. on 10/26/2023, 6:53 am, in reply to "Hi Pat"
“Getting old isn't for the faint of heart”
Seems like that applies to both our pets AND to us!
Sorry about your knee. I've had multiple knee surgeries over my lifetime and finally had them both replaced in 2017, so I can definitely relate! But just keep moving and it should keep getting better.
I guess that's one reason I don't rush to put Sara on pain meds. I have my own aches and pains, and I don't medicate them all (or I'd be popping pills constantly!). Once you start doing that you're in a sort of "there's no going back" scenario, so I want to delay it as long as there seem to be good alternatives.
If Cleo had a bladder infection that could certainly interfere with her peeing. I wouldn't get too worried that that's all the vet found. Just give her the antibiotics and hopefully that will take care of it. And she may get more of those as she ages, so just be prepared for it to happen again.
If Sara gets to the point where jumping on the bed is a problem, I'll look into setting up some kind of ramp arrangement. Pet steps are useless if you ask me. They're all pretty much steep and not that easy to climb. I'm going to see what's out there for a ramp made out of foam so it's easy on her feet and not too hard to move out of the way for making the bed and such. But hopefully we're still a ways out from needing that. And I wouldn't have room to do that for all the furniture in the house that she likes to nap on, so when that day comes, she'll be limited in those ways as well. But we're not there yet!
We just do what we can do, right?
We are all getting up there...Hope Sara feels better...nm
on 10/25/2023, 3:31 am
