We had two cats in our house for many years. About 14 months ago, Frisky died. That left Maggie as the sole remaining cat–until we added Charlie last February and then Max last October.
Meanwhile, Maggie keeps on going. She is now 16 years old (in human years) and should turn 17 late this year. She used to be a really heavy cat with lots of calico fur. In the last couple years, though, she has become much thinner–still with lots of fur. Of course, we are watching her closely. She can get a bit cranky nowadays, especially when the other cats are around.
But she is still Mom’s baby. We got Maggie when she was just a little kitten, with a thin little ratlike tail that soon fluffed out magnificently. She got her name from her early habit of sucking my older son’s shirt sleeve as he held her–just the way Maggie from “The Simpsons” sucks her ever-present pacifier. When my wife “loves her up,” she still purrs loudly. She eats very well and will steal from the other cats’ bowls if they decide to leave something for later.
About the time Frisky was getting ill, Maggie started sleeping in our bed, right next to my wife’s pillow. She has done so ever since, for maybe the last year and a half. As a long-haired cat, Maggie leaves fur wherever she goes, especially in spring. Everywhere! I have issued an edict: Maggie will be the last long-haired cat we will ever own.
In recent weeks, we have been seeing something besides loose fur. On the sheets and in the clothes where she naps, my wife started seeing reddish stains. They smelled like cat urine. Lovely, I know. Last Saturday morning, my wife and I talked about it, and a few hours later we had Maggie in the cat carrier, heading for the veterinarian’s office.
We took the cat carrier to the examination table, and the vet said she was going to try get some urine from her bladder with a syringe. No problem–as soon as the needle went in, the table as flooded with urine, and we pulled Maggie away. The vet used her test strips to check the chemistry of the urine and reported they indicate she seems to be in good condition outside of a urinary tract infection.
So she gave Maggie a shot and gave us some antibiotics with instructions to give them to her every day. We have, and since then she seems to be feeling better–a little more spirit, more alert, and no more leaking, at least not so far.
So that’s how things stand now, four days later. As an elderly cat. she sleeps an awful lot during the day but occasionally gets up, walks over to my wife and meows. My wife picks her up, goes back to her favorite rocking chair and holds her for a while. Purr, purr, purr, and she eventually drifts off to sleep. My wife puts her down, returns to whatever she is doing. When Maggie wakes up, the cycle repeats.
And at about 9:45 p.m. each day, when my wife is watching TV downstairs, Maggie (and the other cats) show up and start watching us intently. They get fed a little after 10, just before my wife goes to bed.
After that, Maggie climbs the steps to her reserved space on the bed. Max gets all excited and runs back and forth. Charlie runs a little and wrestles wtih Max, but then she sits in one place. My wife and I go upstairs, and eventually Charlie follows and hops up into my lap as I sit at the computer. We have our little rituals, too.
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I drove up to Marquette for an all-day meeting on Tuesday. Snow was in the forecast–about two or three inches–but I didn’t see anything until about the halfway mark on the drive home. It was just starting to accumulate then–very wet stuff, and it didn’t break my heart that I didn’t have to drive through that mess. Eventually we got about two inches. With temperatures supposed to get back into the 40s in the next couple days, it won’t be around for long.
Of course … it can’t be gone soon enough.
drdog
Very impressive! I think cats who live in caring homes tend to live longer. Our Mumu is also well into her teens, and also losing a lot of weight. We need to have her thyroid checked out soon actually. She is originally from Alaska, has lived in Louisiana and Maine, and down here she has survived a bout of hepatic lipidosis – a very common ailment in cats, and very treatable. There is a lot of ignorance on the subject though, unfortunately.
I took ownership of the cat of a friend of a friend once, as they were emigrating to Spain and the cat was too old and probably wouldn’t have survived the trip/quarantine.
At the time, the cat was 18 years old. His name was Orinoco, the family called him Noodles, but the maid called him Nookie (!), so Nookie kinda stuck, heheh I had him for two years, and then I was moving and could only take one cat with me (I had three). I chose to take my beloved Charlie, the cat I’d had the longest. A friend of mine said he’d look after Nookie. So he drove over from the other side of the country to pick him up. That was about four years ago. He had Nookie put down late last year because he was suffering too many problems from old age. That would make him about 22 years old! Madness.
He was a grumpy devil. Overweight, cranky, hard of hearing and sight… but a real character
I have a feeling our cat will be around for a very long time. She is a spoiled princess who tends to merely put up with us sharing her space.
Rusty: Caring homes, yes. But ours are also indoor cats, and I think they live longer than cats that wander around outside. There’s something sad in cats living inside all their lives, but a long, comfortable life with people who love them is good compensation.
agreed drd:
Ours are all indoor cats now. Even one we adopted off the street when he was already grown up. He’s an all-white cat, and had pretty bad skin cancer when we found him. We had his nose and ears docked, and now he’s a happy chap and embracing his new indoors life. He’s happy being inside as long as the dog is inside too… they have a little partnership going since the dog used to lick his wounds. The wounds are gone now, but he still goes to nudge the dog’s chin to have his head licked till he looks like Billy Idol.
It sounds like Maggie is well looked after.
My Pard kitty lived to be almost 20, he was senile, half deaf and he got very thin, he was hyperthyroid so he ate MASSIVE amounts of quality cat food, but he lived a good year longer than the vet though he would due to the care my family gave him, he was an indoor/outdoor cat, coming and going as he asked to, living in the woods on a quiet road I never worried about him getting hit by cars. All three of our current cats are indoor cats, at 12(ish), 8, and 9(ish) they are all healthy and happy
My last one, Floyd, lived to be 19 yrs and one month. I had my friend and fellow technician put him down while I held him in my arms. I had him from before birth as I rescued his mom at 4 months of age. My oldest now is Crouton, and she is almost 15. She is very thing also but doesn’t eat like a cat with HT- but I know her kidneys are not great. I give her fluid therapy now and then subq and she is good for a long time. It just helps clear them out and flushes out her system.
Rustsy’s description of his cat looking like Billy Idol busted me up.
Cats always do better indoors and in pairs. They live much healthier, and happier lives.
I have started a vet blog Peter- did I tell you that? Askthevettech.com.
check out out sometime.
hugssssssss
J
Our Max, the orange cat we got (from the shelter) last October, had been found outside as a stray when he was brought in to the shelter last winter. He had a bad abscess in his jaw, too. They took care of that, and Max is a happy cat now. Likes to purr, likes to run around the house, likes to ambush Charlie.
Interesting thing is, Max likes to sit in windows and look outside. But my wife tells me when we had a brief spell of warmer weather recently and she opened the window so the fresh air could come in through the screen, Max hopped down and stayed away.
Jana’s askthevettech.com is very good. I recommend that all pet owners take a look.