Spooker Bounces Back
A few weeks ago, I honestly thought the next post about Spooker here would be her obituary.
A bit of background - she is our oldest kitty; she'll be nineteen this coming Mother's Day. If you're not familiar with her, you can read more about her by clicking here.
She was diagnosed with Chronic Renal Failure two years ago, and was given about two months to live by the vet who gave the diagnosis. We've switched vets since then and our current vet says that with her overall health, she could live for several years. This latest diagnosis was after she'd been on Renavast for about a year. She's now on probiotics that we get from 1-800-PetMeds, and for over a year was very stable and her health was steady. You can click here to see the probiotics that we use.
Then, right around New Years Eve, she suddenly stopped eating and was cold and wanted to hide. She also had stopped grooming herself, and was looking ragged, and occasionally needed a wipe down below, and one day we had to cut off a big dingleberry. She meowed loudly when I would try and touch her, and I really thought that her time had come to move on to the Bridge. We plugged in her heated bed for her, and tried to make her as comfortable as possible.
However, she was still using her litter box on her own and still drinking water regularly. When she stopped eating even treats, we had a discussion about what we should do, ethically for her. We didn't want to see our old girl suffer in any way, but weren't ready to give up on her, either. Since she still drinking water on her own and able to get up and around, we decided to try syringe feeding her for a few days to see what happened. To say she did NOT like the syringe feeding is to put it mildly, but I'm pretty good at squirting thinned-out stinky goodness down a cat's throat once I could get the syringe between her clenched teeth.
After three days of this, I told her, if you want me to stop, you're going to have to start eating on your own again! That evening, she ate half a Temptation, and the next day, three on her own! Who knew you could cry Happy Tears from someone eating Temptations?
Since then, she has started eating regularly on her own again, and has gotten stronger. She never stopped using the litter box, and drinks a lot - which I guess is common for some kitties with CRF. She had mostly stabilized, but I could tell she'd lost weight, and had no interest in grooming herself anymore, so she had that aged, unkempt kitty look. Over the last few days, we could tell that her strength had returned more because every time either of us entered the bedroom, she would get off her heated bed, which is between our pillows and the bedroom wall, and march down to the foot of the bed to demand Temptations. We couldn't refuse her, so we had to start keeping a secret stash (away from the other Purries) just for her, and giving her one every time she asked. After one Temptation, she usually used her stairs to go down to her own special water bowl in our bathroom and drink water, so we knew she was staying hydrated. I was brushing her, and checking out her hind area to see if it needed a cleanup, but she really had no interest in grooming herself. Until last night in the middle of the night, I heard lick lick lick - now, sometimes the crazy old girl will lick the bedroom wall, so that's what I thought it was at first, until I saw by the light of the night light that she had her hind leg up in the yoga position and was cleaning herself down there. This morning, she was doing her typical over-grooming of the tip of her tail. She's a crazy old girl, but I love her so. And am so thrilled that she'd decided she has one more of her nine lives yet to spend with us.
Her iDaddy left yesterday for school in London again, and this time he'll be gone for six months. When he left and said good-bye to her, I wondered if it would be the last time he'd see her. But with her grooming of herself last night and this morning, I am much more hopeful that she will stick around til June, to beg her iDaddy for treats again!
Popular Posts
-
A cautionary tale by Not The Mama Spooker has been with me since she was a just-weaned kitten, over a decade. She's always just eaten k...
-
Tonight, Ubee took a sudden turn for the worse. He was walking along, then fell over. His back legs stopped working. I picked him up...
-
photo by morgen1967 on Flickr. Pete is HOME. That's the great news. His temperature has stabilized in the "high-end of normal...
-
Chloe collapsed suddenly today, and was rushed to the vet. She didn't make it. Please understand that we're in shock and numb r...
-
It is with heavy hearts that we have to share that our handsome Peter has gone to the Rainbow Bridge. We will do a tribute post to him ...
-
Some good news: The family that adopted Callie reports she has installed herself as Queen Of Their Realm , and is very happy in her Forever ...
-
Name: Daphne Birthday: March 7, 2006 Family Stuff: Chloe and I were born at the house of a friend of Not The Mama's, Kathlee...
-
Last night I came home from work, and Chloe was cowering up on a storage shelf unit in the hallway, Daphne was perched up on the cabinet in ...
-
Saturday afternoon, Jim & Drew, two of my friends from Chicago, brought in a shivering spot of black fur into the shop -- a little kitte...
Labels Cloud
- 2012 Cat-O-Lympics
- 40 Paws
- 4th of July
- AJ
- Anamigo
- Angelo
- Animal Rescue Site
- Animal Service League
- Ask Daphne
- ASPCA
- Awards
- Bast
- Beau
- Bella
- Bellatrix
- BellisiMo
- Bessie
- Bestest Blog
- Bio
- Birthdays
- black cat appreciation day
- Blog Blast For Peace
- Book Review
- Boxing Day
- Butterscotch
- Cafe Press
- calendar
- Callie Fostoria
- Cat Above
- Cat Blogosphere
- Cat Grass
- Catmint
- Catnip
- CCSI
- Celebration
- CFHF
- Challenge
- Chili
- Chloe
- Christmas
- Cinco De Mayo
- Clean + Green
- Daphne
- Diego
- Doodle Week
- Dreams
- Drs Foster and Smith
- Earth Day
- Easter
- Easter Lily
- Egypt
- Entrecard
- Entrecat
- Etsy
- Father's Day
- Feral Cats
- Finally Friday
- Flashback Friday
- Flickr
- Florida
- foster
- Friends
- friskies
- Furminator
- Glamor Puss Saturday
- Gotcha Day
- Gracie
- Grimmy
- Halloween
- Hammocks
- Holidays
- House Panthers
- House Trashing Party
- HSUS
- iDaddy
- IFTTT
- Inkie
- International Box Day
- Isis
- Jack
- Jack Sparrow
- Jannagraphics
- Jazper
- KC
- Kittens
- Linkies
- LiveStrong
- LOL
- Mancat Monday
- Manic Monday
- Mari
- Meme
- Meow Like A Pirate
- Merlin
- Midnight Monday
- Minion
- Mo Cats Day
- MooshMoosh
- Mother's Day
- Movember
- Moving
- Napurrday
- New Years
- Nip Raviolis
- NOMS
- Not The Mama
- party mix
- Peace
- Peanut
- Pepper
- Percy
- Pete
- peter
- PetSmart
- Photo Hunters
- Photo Of The Day
- Photobucket
- Picnik
- Pink Ladies
- PJ
- Post Cards
- POTD
- Product Review
- Purrfectly Fish
- PURRS
- Purrthday
- Rainbow Bridge
- Ramses
- Red-Dot-A-Thon
- Rescue
- Roy
- Ruby Tuesday
- Salem
- Secret Paws
- Senor Gato
- Sepia Scenes
- Soft Paws
- Sonora
- Spawt
- Spooker
- straw hat
- Sunday Bits
- Tabby Cat Club
- Tabby Tuesday
- Tamale
- Temptations
- thank you
- thanksgiving
- The Floofster
- The Mo Show
- The Way Home
- The Wren's Nest
- thursday thirteen
- Toxic Plants
- treats
- Tuxie Tuesday
- Ubee
- Valentines
- Vet
- Veteran's Day
- Widebody Wednesday
- Wind Chime
- Window Views
- Woofies
- Wordless Wednesday
- world cat day
- Yak
- YouTube
- Zoe
- zoo
- Zoolatry
Labels List Numbered
- 2012 Cat-O-Lympics
- 40 Paws
- 4th of July
- AJ
- Anamigo
- Angelo
- Animal Rescue Site
- Animal Service League
- Ask Daphne
- ASPCA
- Awards
- Bast
- Beau
- Bella
- Bellatrix
- BellisiMo
- Bessie
- Bestest Blog
- Bio
- Birthdays
- black cat appreciation day
- Blog Blast For Peace
- Book Review
- Boxing Day
- Butterscotch
- Cafe Press
- calendar
- Callie Fostoria
- Cat Above
- Cat Blogosphere
- Cat Grass
- Catmint
- Catnip
- CCSI
- Celebration
- CFHF
- Challenge
- Chili
- Chloe
- Christmas
- Cinco De Mayo
- Clean + Green
- Daphne
- Diego
- Doodle Week
- Dreams
- Drs Foster and Smith
- Earth Day
- Easter
- Easter Lily
- Egypt
- Entrecard
- Entrecat
- Etsy
- Father's Day
- Feral Cats
- Finally Friday
- Flashback Friday
- Flickr
- Florida
- foster
- Friends
- friskies
- Furminator
- Glamor Puss Saturday
- Gotcha Day
- Gracie
- Grimmy
- Halloween
- Hammocks
- Holidays
- House Panthers
- House Trashing Party
- HSUS
- iDaddy
- IFTTT
- Inkie
- International Box Day
- Isis
- Jack
- Jack Sparrow
- Jannagraphics
- Jazper
- KC
- Kittens
- Linkies
- LiveStrong
- LOL
- Mancat Monday
- Manic Monday
- Mari
- Meme
- Meow Like A Pirate
- Merlin
- Midnight Monday
- Minion
- Mo Cats Day
- MooshMoosh
- Mother's Day
- Movember
- Moving
- Napurrday
- New Years
- Nip Raviolis
- NOMS
- Not The Mama
- party mix
- Peace
- Peanut
- Pepper
- Percy
- Pete
- peter
- PetSmart
- Photo Hunters
- Photo Of The Day
- Photobucket
- Picnik
- Pink Ladies
- PJ
- Post Cards
- POTD
- Product Review
- Purrfectly Fish
- PURRS
- Purrthday
- Rainbow Bridge
- Ramses
- Red-Dot-A-Thon
- Rescue
- Roy
- Ruby Tuesday
- Salem
- Secret Paws
- Senor Gato
- Sepia Scenes
- Soft Paws
- Sonora
- Spawt
- Spooker
- straw hat
- Sunday Bits
- Tabby Cat Club
- Tabby Tuesday
- Tamale
- Temptations
- thank you
- thanksgiving
- The Floofster
- The Mo Show
- The Way Home
- The Wren's Nest
- thursday thirteen
- Toxic Plants
- treats
- Tuxie Tuesday
- Ubee
- Valentines
- Vet
- Veteran's Day
- Widebody Wednesday
- Wind Chime
- Window Views
- Woofies
- Wordless Wednesday
- world cat day
- Yak
- YouTube
- Zoe
- zoo
- Zoolatry
Video of the day
Powered by Blogger.
Blog Archive
Labels
2012 Cat-O-Lympics
40 Paws
4th of July
AJ
Anamigo
Angelo
Animal Rescue Site
Animal Service League
Ask Daphne
ASPCA
Awards
Bast
Beau
Bella
Bellatrix
BellisiMo
Bessie
Bestest Blog
Bio
Birthdays
black cat appreciation day
Blog Blast For Peace
Book Review
Boxing Day
Butterscotch
Cafe Press
calendar
Callie Fostoria
Cat Above
Cat Blogosphere
Cat Grass
Catmint
Catnip
CCSI
Celebration
CFHF
Challenge
Chili
Chloe
Christmas
Cinco De Mayo
Clean + Green
Daphne
Diego
Doodle Week
Dreams
Drs Foster and Smith
Earth Day
Easter
Easter Lily
Egypt
Entrecard
Entrecat
Etsy
facebook
Father's Day
Feral Cats
Finally Friday
Flashback Friday
Flickr
Florida
foster
Friends
friskies
Furminator
Glamor Puss Saturday
Gotcha Day
Gracie
Grimmy
Halloween
Hammocks
Holidays
House Panthers
House Trashing Party
HSUS
iDaddy
IFTTT
Inkie
Instagram
International Box Day
Isis
Jack
Jack Sparrow
Jannagraphics
Jazper
KC
Kittens
Linkies
LiveStrong
LOL
Mancat Monday
Manic Monday
Mari
Meme
Meow Like A Pirate
Merlin
Midnight Monday
Minion
Mo Cats Day
MooshMoosh
Mother's Day
Movember
Moving
Napurrday
New Years
Nip Raviolis
NOMS
Not The Mama
party mix
Peace
Peanut
Pepper
Percy
Pete
peter
PetSmart
Photo Hunters
Photo Of The Day
Photobucket
Picnik
Pink Ladies
PJ
Post Cards
POTD
Product Review
Purrfectly Fish
PURRS
Purrthday
Rainbow Bridge
Ramses
Red-Dot-A-Thon
Rescue
Roy
Ruby Tuesday
Salem
Secret Paws
Senor Gato
Sepia Scenes
Soft Paws
Sonora
Spawt
Spooker
straw hat
Sunday Bits
Tabby Cat Club
Tabby Tuesday
Tamale
Temptations
thank you
thanksgiving
The Floofster
The Mo Show
The Way Home
The Wren's Nest
thursday thirteen
Toxic Plants
treats
Tuxie Tuesday
Twitter
Ubee
Valentines
Vet
Veteran's Day
Widebody Wednesday
Wind Chime
Window Views
Woofies
Wordless Wednesday
world cat day
Yak
YouTube
Zoe
zoo
Zoolatry
Bless her little heart. It is hard to get to be that old. Jenny will be 19 in March, and she has stopped grooming period. But she is still eating and drinking a ton of water, she also has renal failure, and is hyperthyroid as well. So, let's hope the 2 old girls keep kicking up the Temptations daily! Jenny likes her treats as well.
ReplyDeleteLuf, Us and Maw
Oh goodness. WE are glad she is improving and certainly will be praying for her to keep improving and be with you for a long time.
ReplyDeleteWe are so glad to hear that she doing better. It's so hard to watch and they can't tell you what is going on. We hope that she's got many more months of special temptation treats!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad Spooker's doing so much better. They seem to have good times and bad times as they age. Rusty got really bad with grooming himself the last year of his life, and he was a long-haired kitty. He didn't much care for me grooming him either. While he didn't have CRF, he just had old kitty disease, he was 3 months shy of 20 when he ran off to the bridge.
ReplyDeleteOh, that is good news. She sounds like a character.
ReplyDeleteThat is so wonderful and she is such a sweetie!
ReplyDeleteSo happy she's feeling stronger! So very, VERY happy!!! Purrs all around. purrs
ReplyDeleteI have two with CRF - Chica is 21 and Yoko is 19. Both have had ups and downs since their diagnosis. I am giving daily subcutaneous fluids to both and that seems to be what is keeping them going. They are also on Renavast and to keep their immune system boosted Transfer Factor Plus and for their stomach acid slippery elm and aloe vera juice. Does Spooker get fluids often? Everyone has to find the right combination of treatments for their cats. Purring for Spooker to have lots more years. Chica has had CRF for going on 7 years.
ReplyDeleteDear little kitty :)
ReplyDeleteWe will send purrs to help her get her strength back.
We purr she has many days (months) yet!!
Purrs Tillie and Georgia,
Treasure,Tiger, JJ and Julie
Way to go, Spooker! Glad to hear you are doing better.
ReplyDeleteI am so happy to know that Spooker is doing better! It is scary when a kitty gets to that point. Paws crossed that she continues to improve for a long time to come.
ReplyDeleteSweeet! :)
ReplyDeletepurrs for her continued good health
ReplyDeleteGo Spooker! We're purring for a happy reunion with your iDaddy in 6 months!!
ReplyDeleteThe Florida Furkids
It is so hard when they get older.....it is kind of a roller coaster, but we are purring and have our paws crossed you have much more quality time together. :)
ReplyDeleteThis is such wonderful heartwarming news. We know how difficult it can be when a cat gets older as mom's heart-cat beloved Siamese lived to be almost 20 years old. It sounds like you are doing a wonderful job helping Spooker in her senior years. We love you guys. PURRS. xx
ReplyDeletePS: That is a beautiful pic of Spooker. xx
ReplyDeleteFantastic! Way to go, Spooker! We will purr and pray that her good health continues.
ReplyDeleteReally great news that you are doing well old gal! We will send plenty of purrs to keep eating and grooming and being a wonderful cat!
ReplyDelete