As you know, our cat Lucy is
sick. Working with the vet and using many of your great suggestions, we are trying to treat her maladies. This endeavor is occupying much of our time, energy, and emotion. At times, I am encouraged and think we can get her to a stable place and enjoy her for a while longer. At other times, I think that I should deal with reality and enjoy her for the little time she has left. So far, she is sending us no clear messages. Last night looked grim, but this morning looks better. And so it goes. In the meantime, I am reposting a "Day in the Life of Lucy" from a couple of years ago to remind you what Lucy looks like. So you can have a face with a name or some fur with a name, so to speak. :)
A Day in the Life of Lucy
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| A Day in the Life of Lucy |
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| Lucy started her day with a little breakfast. |
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| Then she decided to join Wally who was still in bed. |
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After her nap with Wally, she joined the family in
a game of Scrabble. |
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She soon became bored with Scrabble and decided
to play cards instead. |
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All the game playing tired her out, so she took another
nap with the rest of the cats. |
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| After her rest, she tried her paws at some arts and crafts. |
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| The tedium of the arts and crafts made her nervous, so she chewed on a box to calm herself before her next nap. |
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| When she woke up, she was hungry and demanded to be fed. |
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| After eating, she decided that she would watch some TV with me and Annie, but soon fell asleep. |
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| With her last burst of energy for the day, she caught a "mouse." |
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| And she fell asleep for the night beside Ward. |
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| The end. |
What an exhausting day Lucy had -- no wonder she needs so many naps!!
ReplyDeleteShe was living her day like many cats--being in the middle of everything to let you know who is really in control. :)
DeleteWe laugh about how our cat is so exhausted from sleeping that he needs rest breaks--seems to be a cat tendency! I love watching cats crawl into boxes and bags.
ReplyDeleteHope Lucy perks up ...
Yes, cats are champion nappers. I forget the stats, but they do spend the majority of their life sleeping. I love to watch them explore bags and boxes also. One of my cats prefers plastic bags and others prefer paper. Does your cat have a preference?
DeleteHe's not fussy. :) Our entertainment when someone gets a gift is watching him crawl in boxes/gift bags and attacking tissue paper. Cheaper than going to a movie and more fun than most movies!
DeleteWhat a beautiful girl. I wish they had time release shots or under skin capsules to treat cats for most things. Be so much easier.
ReplyDeleteA time release shot. I like it. Right now, I'm giving Lucy B vitamin shots and that is by far the easiest thing we are doing for her. Anything that has to go in through the mouth--well that's another story.
DeleteAwwww... the sweetness...
ReplyDeleteI totally understand about having your time, energy and emotions overwhelmed by being in sick kitty land. I think for me the hardest part is the awful weight of the responsibility. I feel like Princess' little life is in my hands and that I've gotta get everything "right."
It helps to keep reminding myself that ultimately this is her journey, not mine, and that I'm really only playing a supporting role here. I know we have different belief systems, but I see it as she has to live out her own karma, and all I can really do is to help her along the way - but the outcome is not in my control.
Did you ever see the film, "Lawrence of Arabia"? There's a part where he risks his life to save a man from a horrible dust storm, only to watch the guy get killed in a fight shortly afterward. Not that I'm giving up on her or anything like that - but it just helps to remind myself that you can do everything "right" and it still might not make a difference.
Sending you big hugs...
Knowing that we are not really in control is something we struggle with every day. Sometimes, it seems like we should not intervene and just let things happen as they may. And other times, we feel like we should give her all the opportunities to have a longer life if there is some quality to it. And that quality involves the treatments being reasonable in Lucy's opinion. When she starts avoiding us all of the time because she is afraid of what we're going to do to her, it's not worth it.
DeleteBTW, We tried the first capsule and your pilling method last night. While I wouldn't exactly say it went smoothly, it wasn't too bad. I used a #4 capsule, that seemed like a reasonable size to swallow, but she needs more of the powder than it holds. What's the biggest capsule you've used with your cats?
I'm glad the pilling wasn't too horrible. It usually gets better with time.
DeleteFor a while when Smoky was sick the vet had him on a special probiotic, which was actually made for people, so it came in a big capsule - a 1 or a 0 I think! I was really nervous about giving it to him, but it didn't seem to bother him in the least. Of course, Smoky is the cat who will happily let me shove my entire finger down his throat, so he might not be the best comparison - but the vet assured me that it was completely safe to give a capsule that big. You might try going up one size at a time to see how she does.
I'm totally with you in terms of the treatments being reasonable. Princess is supposed to be on prescription food, but she just hates it - and all the foods she likes are decidedly bad for her. There are some supplements I can give her that help a little (phosphorous binders) but in the end I figure it's vastly more important that she eats - and that she gets to enjoy it at least somewhat, so I've pretty much given up on the prescription food and just try for as much of the "less bad" stuff as I can.