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Cat Forum / Cat Anecdotes / February 2005I'm Upset...What To Do?
I've written before about my calico cat, Calico. She was a wild young cat who appeared in my yard in early 1997, and who would initially disappear over the wall if she even saw me through the glass doors. I started feeding her at that time. After she had three kittens in my garage in August, I eventually trapped her and she became a very happy house cat, although it took me an entire year (till March, 1998) before I could touch her. She's my favorite - always happy, affectionate, and a real sweetheart, although she won't get near anyone else, including my wife. The problem is she cannot be picked up. If she senses that a hand is about to get hold of her, she bolts. If one actually grabs her, she becomse a berserk, hysterical mass of flailing limbs and claws. This means that she can't be Advantaged or have her nails clipped. Last year I was six months late for the yearly checkup (thank goodness she never gets sick), and we finally had to sedate her in order to get her in a carrier and to the vet. There, she is totally docile and handleable due to being out of her element and scared. That was in October, 2003 - a full six months overdue. Last week, after I'd failed several times to grab her since her October, 2004 due date for the checkup, we once again tried the sedatives in people tuna. She could tell something was in that food, but ate enough so that I could grab her and throw her into the carrier. Got her to the vet 2 hours early, figuring she'd be calmer there than howling away in the carrier at home. It was so nice clipping the nails and applying Advantage - she won't draw any blood for three weeks when she kneads me! Then the claws will start getting sharp and the cycle starts again. Finally it was time to see TED. And it happened - we had a problem. She had dental issues, and they had to keep her for the day, understanding that they only get one chance with this cat. She had five teeth extracted. One had a cavity, and four of the little front guys were so loose as to come out with just a little pressure during the dental treatment. They gave me antibiotics, which I've unsuccessfully tried to put in her food (she won't touch it), and a bunch of syringes of a pain-killing narcotic that I'm supposed to squirt into her mouth twice a day. That was Friday, and I managed to get one into her on Saturday by basically sitting on her and jamming the syringe into her mouth before she could go ballistic and escape. She forgave me within a few hours. But I haven't succeeded since that time. I'm babbling here, but am just so concerned that she HAS to be in considerable pain, despite the constant purring and affection. I haven't tried putting this drug in any food, as it just seems too likely to be rejected and thus a waste of a fairly expensive medication. Of course, it's not doing any good sitting in the syringes. I guess this situation can't be readily addressed by anyone - it really seems like an insolvable problem. Meanwhile, I'm quite upset knowing that I can't administer the medications that would make her recovery a lot smoother. Art > I've written before about my calico cat, Calico. She was a wild young cat > who [quoted text clipped - 76 lines] > > Art Art, I'm so sorry - I can only imagine how you must feel. Purrs that Calico gets better soon. I don't think she is suffering too much, though. If she's eating OK then it seems to me like she's coping with the pain and after two days it's probably abating. There's not really anything you can do if she doesn't let you medicate her, so try not to beat yourself up about it. Maybe someone here can help you out with how to handle a former feral. I've never had to deal with that problem. Again, purrs that everything works out well for Calico. Hugs, CatNipped > I guess this situation can't be readily addressed by anyone - it really > seems like an insolvable problem. Meanwhile, I'm quite upset knowing that I > can't administer the medications that would make her recovery a lot > smoother. I can imagine. I wish I could give you some advice, but all I can say is that I hope she feels better soon.  Signaturemonique, roommate of Oscar the (female) grouch ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Eros was adopted! Eros has a home now! *cheer!* Sometimes all you can do is all you can do. And you have to forgive yourself that it isn't more or maybe even enough. Sounds like Calico is doing the best she can as well. I'm sure that is all you expect of her too. Just make sure she has plenty of water and easy to eat food till she can heal. Jo > I've written before about my calico cat, Calico. She was a wild young cat > who [quoted text clipped - 76 lines] > > Art > Sometimes all you can do is all you can do. And you have to forgive > yourself that it isn't more or maybe even enough. [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > Just make sure she has plenty of water and easy to eat food till she can > heal. That's probably a pretty good answer. Probably not for this time, but I wonder if she has to have TED treatment, and there were an opportunity to shave a bit of skin, if any of the pediatric sizes of narcotic skin patches might be usable. They release a drug, usually fentanyl, over quite a while. That being said, I don't know if fentanyl helps cats -- morphine does not -- or if there is a patch with a low enough dose for her body weight. Art, I agree with Jo. It probably won't be a popular answer, however. I have a cat similar to Calico. She had nine teeth removed at one time, including two fangs. I did manage to get one pain pill down her throat but she wouldn't take any more and she ran from me when it came time for antibiotics. She'd hide under the bed. I had the option of chasing her out from under the bed with a golf club or not giving her the antibiotics and keeping an eye on her for any sign of infection. I decided the stress of chasing her was worse than not getting antibiotics. She ate soft food for a day then started eating the dry food I had put out for the others. That was her choice. We did fine, she recovered without incident. Just keep a close watch over Calico if you absolutely can't medicate her, if she starts hiding or not eating then capture her and force her. I suppose you could always cage her for a few days to make sure she gets her medication. Selena and I send purrs for you both and hope that all turns out well. Julie and Selena > Sometimes all you can do is all you can do. And you have to forgive > yourself that it isn't more or maybe even enough. [quoted text clipped - 87 lines] >> >>Art Is there any possibility of a vet tech from you vet making a house call to administer some medication? Jo > I've written before about my calico cat, Calico. She was a wild young cat > who [quoted text clipped - 76 lines] > > Art >Is there any possibility of a vet tech from you vet making a house call to >administer some medication? Nope...In her own house, where she can be in control, there's no way she'll be in sight if anyone else comes into the house. This is even for folks who have visited me hundreds of times over the years. She'll be safely in some other room. Now I suppose I could drug her twice a day and take her to the vet, where I could calmly administer the medicine in the lobby and then take her home. Gee, probably just putting the carrier in the car and driving fifty yards down the street would be sufficient to have her under absolute control. She is totally normal/handleable anywhere but home. But realistically, that isn't something anyone would do; drugging the poor kitty is a desperate last resort. Thanks for the thought, but the issue is that at home, she is unmanageable. BTW, I've posted the link before, but if anyone wants to see her, she's the second cat on my cats page: http://members.cox.net/mybrainhurts/cats.htm with other photos on her story page. Art Art > BTW, I've posted the link before, but if anyone wants to see her, she's the > second cat on my cats page: http://members.cox.net/mybrainhurts/cats.htm > with other photos on her story page. I hadn't seen these. I'm reading through them now. I read Banana's story (the ears, or lack thereof, intrigued me), but I still don't understand how she got her name. Signaturemonique, who spoils Oscar unmercifully pictures: http://www.bounceswoosh.org/rpca >>Is there any possibility of a vet tech from you vet making a house call to >>administer some medication? [quoted text clipped - 20 lines] > > Art As someone who has studied vet technology and also has a cat that detests being handled, i'd say go with Debbie's advice. Just wanted to write and give some support and tell you she's an absolutely lovely kitty! Kristy >> Is there any possibility of a vet tech from you vet making a house call to >> administer some medication? [quoted text clipped - 20 lines] > > Art What about baby food? Have you tried that with her mixing the stuff in in little bits? She may be able to sense a full dose of something mixed in but if she gets it in a steady stream it would be better than nothing. I don't think she needs the pain killer overly as obviously she has been doing without it, but the AB are something else. Baby Food, sardines, tuna, swansons canned chicken, a/d from the vets are some things I can think of that cats will often find irresistable even with something mixed in. > Baby Food, sardines, tuna, >swansons canned chicken, a/d from the vets are some things I can think of >that cats will often find irresistable even with something mixed in. I had tried people tuna, which she dearly loves, figuring that gave me my best shot. Indeed, that's what she wolfed down this morning (with nothing in it). I've never tried baby food with her; presumably I need something with a very significant powerful taste in order to mask the medicine. Canned people mackeral is another one she likes, and might be worth trying as it seems to be fairly potent stuff. Regarding the gloves and towel suggestion, I'm just concerned that if I successfully grab her more than once or twice, she'll just keep her distance from me for the next few days, until she decides I've suffered enough and can be forgiven. So I'm concerned about winning the battle and losing the war. I'm not trying to monopolize the group, in view of everyone else's woes or happy stories, but to answer Monique's question about Banana Simian's name: I once had a business trip to New Orleans, and had some real problems with the delightfully thick accents those folks have. This particular company constantly had people being paged over the intercom. Once, plain as day, I heard a page for "Ring A Ding Queer" - a wonderful name which my host swore was a page to "Mary de Kwa" or however one would spell that pronunciation. I knew he was crazy, as there's no way I'd hear "Mary" as "Ring a Ding". Then, over the intercom, came a page to "Banana Simian". I practically fell over in disbelief. My host hadn't noticed the page, so he couldn't translate it into English. I resolved that I'd eventually acquire a cat who would be named Banana Simian - it just flows off the tongue so wonderfully that it deserved to be a cat's name. Art > I'm not trying to monopolize the group, in view of everyone else's woes or > happy stories This newsgroup is for anecdotes about cats. You're not monopolizing; you're sharing! > but to answer Monique's question about Banana Simian's name: I once > had a business trip to New Orleans, and had some real problems with [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > named Banana Simian - it just flows off the tongue so wonderfully that > it deserved to be a cat's name. Cute! I've now read through all the stories on your site and was disappointed to see that not all of the intriguing photographs have associated stories. For some reason, I'm especially curious about Sludge (what a name!) and Genghis Khan. Thank you for posting so many of your cats' stories. Signaturemonique, who spoils Oscar unmercifully pictures: http://www.bounceswoosh.org/rpca >I've now read through all the stories on your site and was disappointed to see >that not all of the intriguing photographs have associated stories. For some >reason, I'm especially curious about Sludge (what a name!) and Genghis Khan. >Thank you for posting so many of your cats' stories. My pleasure. I really should try and write about all of them, although the years tend to dim a lot of memories and thus it might be almost impossible to write about some of them, much as they were loved. Sludge was a real sweetie, who was given 4-6 months to live after being diagnosed with inoperable cancer. She lived 2 1/2 YEARS, absolutely astounding the specialists, and using up her lifetime dosage of various cancer medicines, where the risk of side effects exceeds the benefits of the druvs. My oncologist was conferring with experts around the country in an effort to best deal with the (very happy) unexpected situation. Only in the last couple of days did she suddenly go downhill almost before my eyes. Genghis had the unfortunate characteristic of refusing to come in many nights (which was horribly traumatic) and he'd just run away from me to stay outside. His collar caught on a neighbor's tall wrought-iron plant stand, which fell over, twisting the color and choking him to death. He dragged it a few yards toward home before dieing, and I found him in my driveway. 8/8/85. He was the only audiophile cat I've had. I'm "into" high-end audio, and write for one of the major web sites, formerly a print magazine. I had Genghis in the mid 90's, a time of my life when I was going through a huge amount of equipment, and Genghis could tell the good stuff from the so-so. He'd sit with me happily with good equipment, and nonchalantly leave the room if I put in something that really wasn't up to snuff. You think I'm exxagerating or delusional? I have expert witnesses to this reality. BTW, tonight after finally getting Calico inside (my wife had accidentally let her out this afternoon, which I really didn't want for a few more days), I decided that the expensive syringes would do just as good wasted in uneaten food as they would sitting on the countertop. So I put one into people tuna. Looks like it worked - she had eaten 90% of it when I started typing this message. So the narcotic might not have a very apparent taste, unlike the antibiotic - the ubiqutous pink stuff we've all seen. And finally, like a lot of other folks here, I enjoyed and appreciated your story about acquiring Oscar. We've heard a lot about him over the years, and this is certainly an interesting tale. Art Temporary usercode - to be deleted when spam starts. Use MyBrainHurts at this ISP to reach me >> I've now read through all the stories on your site and was disappointed to >> see [quoted text clipped - 42 lines] > Temporary usercode - to be deleted when spam starts. Use MyBrainHurts at this > ISP to reach me Gosh, that is terrible about Ghengis. So sad. I'm glad she ate some of the meds. I snuck a quarter of Pepcid AC into a spoonful of turkey babyfood to Grant. Poor boy is uncomfortable. I hope tomorrow brings some good results without too much trauma. Why do they have to make that stuff PINK? That really is hard to disguise, but I bet if you do it a little at a time she won't notice. Maybe better with people canned chicken than tuna if she likes that. Let us know how she does. > > Baby Food, sardines, tuna, > >swansons canned chicken, a/d from the vets are some things I can think [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] > to be > fairly potent stuff. I know it's impractical, but I can't get rid of this image of having her visit a sushi bar twice a day, to get mackerel and other choices of sashimi wrapped around a pill. >> Baby Food, sardines, tuna, >> swansons canned chicken, a/d from the vets are some things I can think of [quoted text clipped - 27 lines] > > Art Well, I'd try frequent snacks of what she will wolf down with small amounts of antibiotics in it. See if it works anyway. > Regarding the gloves and towel suggestion, I'm just concerned that if I > successfully grab her more than once or twice, she'll just keep her distance > from me for the next few days, until she decides I've suffered enough and can > be forgiven. So I'm concerned about winning the battle and losing the war. I understand - I think the only other thing I would suggest is to 'herd' her into a very small room - bathroom, maybe - before trying to catch her, but all this adds stress. In a fostering situation, I would be able to accommodate the cat in a pen so making it easy to catch her. In the worst case I had, a real semi-feral, we eventually boarded him at the vet for the duration of the medication, the vet techs did the treatment in situ, and this worked. I think Karen's food idea is a very good one too, if nothing else will work. Good luck - Deb. Signaturehttp://www.scientific-art.com "He looked a fierce and quarrelsome cat, but claw he never would; He only bit the ones he loved, because they tasted good." S. Greenfield > Canned people > mackeral is another one she likes, and might be worth trying as it seems to be [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > >1) Here's my vote for trying the jack mackral. It has done a good job for me masking the scent/taste of meds. 2) Sometimes purring is something cats do when they are hurting as an attempt to comfort themselves. 3) You might not want to cause Calico any more trauma, but if there was a room where she could be confined to where she couldn't escape under something if you had someone come in to help. Ok, that's jumbled, but you get what I mean! But again, you don't want her not to continue trusting you, sooo.... All said, she is likely going to pull through this fine if not as easily as you would have it, and she is safe and warm and loved, which all count. I look forward to hearing how things go. Purrs PatM >>Is there any possibility of a vet tech from you vet making a house call to >>administer some medication? [quoted text clipped - 16 lines] >second cat on my cats page: http://members.cox.net/mybrainhurts/cats.htm with >other photos on her story page. It's a splendid, moving story. Kudos to you for recognizing a great cat. She's just beautiful. Theresa Stinky Pictures: http://community.webshots.com/album/125591586JWEFwh My Blog: http://www.humanitas.blogspot.com >>Is there any possibility of a vet tech from you vet making a house call to >>administer some medication? [quoted text clipped - 20 lines] > > Art Purrs are being sent that Calico will relax and take her meds. When TuTu had to be medicated, I discovered an eyedropper worked better than a syringe. And as my old story goes, after giving her the medicine, I followed it with many squirts of water (which she loved). Ever since (7 years) TuTu gets squirts of water before bedtime -- she looks forward to it.. If you could manage this, perhaps you could dissolve the pill in a little water or some sweet juice and perhaps she would accept it. As always, I love reading your stories! Good luck. MLB P.S. It's been too long since your last post. > The problem is she cannot be picked up. If she senses that a hand is about to > get hold of her, she bolts. If one actually grabs her, she becomse a berserk, > hysterical mass of flailing limbs and claws. This means that she can't be > Advantaged or have her nails clipped. Hi Arthur, I have a cat like this, and have dealt with several others while fostering for my cat rescue group. The best technique - because she *has* to have the medication, so you have to succeed - is to (a) put on a pair of thick leather gloves, as in thick gardening gloves, or thick motorcycle gloves; so you can handle her fearlessly without fear of her teeth or claws (b) wrap a big towel as tightly around her as you can, leaving just her head exposed (c) sit back on your haunches and hold her between your knees with her facing away from you (d) with help if necessary, squirt the medicine into her mouth. It works most of the time for me - good luck.... Deb. Signaturehttp://www.scientific-art.com "He looked a fierce and quarrelsome cat, but claw he never would; He only bit the ones he loved, because they tasted good." S. Greenfield Lots of purrs and best wishes for you to be able to medicate Calico, SignaturePolonca & Soncek > I've written before about my calico cat, Calico. She was a wild young cat who > appeared in my yard in early 1997, and who would initially disappear over the > wall if she even saw me through the glass doors. <snip> Arthur: I'm afraid that I have no more helpful advice to add. I just wanted you to know though that I've read your cat page and admired your excellent pictures and stories. Calico is a lovely much loved kitty I see. I liked your pics of Watermelon Man very much. He is, indeed, a very long cat! Susan M Otis and Chester Not too small themselves > I've written before about my calico cat, Calico. She was a wild young cat > who [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > near > anyone else, including my wife. >I'm afraid that I have no more helpful advice to add. I just wanted you to >know though that I've read your cat page and admired your excellent pictures >and stories Thank you...that's very kind. I wish I had tried the tuna approach earlier, when the narcotics were (presumably) most needed. I just assumed that they'd be very pungent and detectable, but she's had four doses in people tuna the last two days and eaten almost every morsel. So the narcotic must be less obvious to her than the antibiotic, on which I simply was forced to give up. She's sitting immediately behind me as I type, perched on the last three inches of this chair to avoid bothering her, and seems very happy and content. A few minutes ago she was sitting on my shoulder with an attack of the nuzzlies. So I guess, after more than four days post-surgery, that this crisis has pretty much wound down. I don't expect any trouble until the claws start getting sharp in a couple more weeks, and then the viscious cycle starts all over again. Art Temporary usercode - to be deleted when spam starts. Use MyBrainHurts at this ISP to reach me |
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