Pet(s): Photos & Discussion

[Scarlett45]

Just now, Nicmar said:

hey I had a cat named Mrs.Norris!  

Harry Potter reference?

[Bastet]

6 hours ago, SuprSuprElevated said:

I would be very interested if you're willing to disclose what commercial food you used.

Unfortunately, the food I fed Maddie (a Solid Gold formula) has a rather different make-up now, and is no longer low in phosphorus.  This chart (compiled by a vet) shows the caloric composition - percentage of calories from protein, fat, and carbohydrates - of a wide variety of canned cat food, and also the phosphorus content. 

Shermie (my recently-departed "nephew" with CKD and hyperthyroidism) did well for many years on Wellness chicken paté.  His kidney values escalated a few months ago, so my friend added a phosphorus binder (aluminum hydroxide).  His phosphorus level indeed came down some, but she figured at 20 years old, there was not going to be time for the crappy Rx food to do any damage, and went ahead and tried him on the Royal Canin renal formula (to get truly low phosphorus, you have to use a prescription food, as it falls below the nutritional guidelines and thus can only be fed when approved by a vet).  But I don't think he'd even been eating it for a month by the time he died, so the values were about the same.

If it has been three years, and Onyx's kidney values are holding steady or progressing slowly, then what you're feeding is working just fine for her.  But Dr. Pierson's chart I linked above provides a wealth of information about cat food you cannot get from looking at cans, or even from the manufacturers' websites.  Dr. Pierson is devoted to cats, particularly feline nutrition, so her website has a lot of information and advice.

[KlutzyCobbler]

8 hours ago, Growsonwalls said:

This is Pumpkin isn't she cute?

That is exactly what her facial expression says, “Isn’t I cute?” 

[tiftgirl]

@Growsonwalls Pumpkin is adorable!

My Shana had kidney disease and she did very well for a couple of years with just changing to the prescription kidney food.  And almost a couple more with the sub-q fluids 1st once a week and then twice a week.  Now, the phosphorus binder was a whole other story because that is when her pickiness kicked in - no matter how I tried to disguise it she knew it was there, so the Dr wound up giving her that at the same time as the fluid treatment.  Plus it sounds like Pumpkins discovered early.

@Bastet I was hoping you would weigh in as you provided links to so much info (take it in chunks is correct) and encouragement with Shana it was really helpful.  You even laid out all the pros and cons of transplants.

 

[Growsonwalls]

Pumpkin knows she's cute too. She likes to admire herself in the mirror. 

Thanks for all the advice about CKD. It sounds like this is a common ailment among senior cats.

[theredhead77]

8 hours ago, Growsonwalls said:

This is Pumpkin isn't she cute?

Orange kitties are the best kitties!

[Growsonwalls]

1 hour ago, theredhead77 said:

Orange kitties are the best kitties!

I call her Queen of the Oranges.

[MargeGunderson]

1 minute ago, Growsonwalls said:

I call her Queen of the Oranges.

I can imagine her with one of those ruffled collars and a tiara! Regal!

Both of my late cats had kidney issues develop in their early teens, and they did well for several years. One was a particularly picky eater and would not eat the K/D food prescribed by the vet at first, but grudgingly came around. We also used the chart of cat food nutritional info on Dr. Pierson’s site that @Bastet mentioned above. Best of luck to you and the Queen.

[SuprSuprElevated]

13 hours ago, Bastet said:

Unfortunately, the food I fed Maddie (a Solid Gold formula) has a rather different make-up now, and is no longer low in phosphorus.  This chart (compiled by a vet) shows the caloric composition - percentage of calories from protein, fat, and carbohydrates - of a wide variety of canned cat food, and also the phosphorus content. 

Shermie (my recently-departed "nephew" with CKD and hyperthyroidism) did well for many years on Wellness chicken paté.  His kidney values escalated a few months ago, so my friend added a phosphorus binder (aluminum hydroxide).  His phosphorus level indeed came down some, but she figured at 20 years old, there was not going to be time for the crappy Rx food to do any damage, and went ahead and tried him on the Royal Canin renal formula (to get truly low phosphorus, you have to use a prescription food, as it falls below the nutritional guidelines and thus can only be fed when approved by a vet).  But I don't think he'd even been eating it for a month by the time he died, so the values were about the same.

If it has been three years, and Onyx's kidney values are holding steady or progressing slowly, then what you're feeding is working just fine for her.  But Dr. Pierson's chart I linked above provides a wealth of information about cat food you cannot get from looking at cans, or even from the manufacturers' websites.  Dr. Pierson is devoted to cats, particularly feline nutrition, so her website has a lot of information and advice.

Thanks so much.  The last time O's bloodwork was done (not quite a yr ago), her values were holding pretty well, and the Vet didn't feel that SubQ was needed quite yet, but I know what I'm seeing, and she is def getting more frail.  She is eating and drinking without much trouble so far.  Starting to become more vocal, which concerns me.  I've tried a couple of Wellness varieties with no success.  My kitties are nothing if not prototypically fussy.  They will eat a new food with vigor right up until I buy multiple cans of it, then "nope".  

I appreciate your info and the links.  I've started trying to disseminate the link you provided ^upthread.  See you in a month, lol.

Edited February 12, 2021 by SuprSuprElevated

[SuprSuprElevated]

1 hour ago, icemiser69 said:

Growing up, the next door lady had a huge family, most of her kids had moved out of the house.  She had two Siamese cats.  A Tabby stray kept coming over to her house.  She took it in and took the two Siamese cats she had for a decade or so down to the animal shelter.  When her daughter found out about it she was very upset.  When her daughter went down to get the two older Siamese cats they were gone.  I don't know what that meant, I didn't ask.  I assume it wasn't good.

I like all cats.  My first two cats were black. My current cats are a tigerish white cat and a tuxedo.    The tuxedo is the smaller cat and has the asthma issue.

Stories like this make my soul ache.

[Growsonwalls]

2 hours ago, icemiser69 said:

Growing up, the next door lady had a huge family, most of her kids had moved out of the house.  She had two Siamese cats.  A Tabby stray kept coming over to her house.  She took it in and took the two Siamese cats she had for a decade or so down to the animal shelter.  When her daughter found out about it she was very upset.  When her daughter went down to get the two older Siamese cats they were gone.  I don't know what that meant, I didn't ask.  I assume it wasn't good.

I like all cats.  My first two cats were black. My current cats are a tigerish white cat and a tuxedo.    The tuxedo is the smaller cat and has the asthma issue.

That's awful. Peiple are garbage sometimes. 

Edited February 12, 2021 by Growsonwalls

[Nicmar]

20 hours ago, Scarlett45 said:

Harry Potter reference?

yes! she was beautiful part seal point Siamese and Persian

[EighteenTwelve]

Progress, our most important product! Lily and Quirk will play with each other for a little while every other day or so, as long as I don't notice them doing it.  And Quirk has taken to sleeping on top of the office cat tree after breakfast, this week. It's the first time she's slept anywhere without a "roof" on it (in the large carrier, in the kitchen chairs pushed under the table, in the cat tree tunnel, on the bottom shelf in the closet, etc.).

[SuprSuprElevated]

[magicdog]

On 1/22/2021 at 10:46 PM, icemiser69 said:

Before Covid hit, I had read some info which stated that in the United States a cat and dog get "put down" on average every fifteen seconds.  I would imagine that has accelerated at a much faster rate since Covid.

I don't know about all areas but my area, the pound population has gone way down since covid.  Seems everyone stuck at home wanted a companion.   

[isalicat]

Completely anecdotal evidence, but at the food pantry hereabouts where I work several days a week, we are seeing more and more people with new pets (found and adopted from the shelter small dogs and cats and a few bigger dogs). I think the endless isolation caused by our lockdowns are certainly contributing to the desire for a companion and I feel very privileged to be able to give out cat and dog food as well as people food when asked (due to the wonderful generosity of our local citizenry who continue to bring stuff pretty much every day to supplement what we have to buy in terms of staples). One of our "walkers" (what we call people that don't even have a car to live in, and just walk in for a special bag of food that doesn't require kitchen prep) had a big square backpack with an adorable kitty perched on top - the cat and the fella looked really happy with each other and the guy told us the cat refuses to be left behind (I think the guy is camping somewhere) and rides around quite contently "on top of the world".

[magicdog]

10 hours ago, icemiser69 said:

That is awesome, I hope they keep them when things get better.

I'm pretty sure they do.  Many of them go to people who are working remotely so they have the time to be home and spend it with their new buddy.  

Last year, when the shutdown first happened, we had a local viewer who sent us a short video of her cat meowing.  According to her, the cat was protesting her presence since she was supposed to be at work! 

[SuprSuprElevated]

[bosawks]

Blonde on Blonde

[Suzn]

Found in my inbox:

[Mindthinkr]

We are patiently waiting for treats. 

[Annber03]

It'd be pretty hard to say no to those penetrating eyes :p. 

[Suzn]

5 minutes ago, Mindthinkr said:

We are patiently waiting for treats. 

They're adorable---and intense!

[Mindthinkr]

10 minutes ago, Suzn said:

They're adorable---and intense!

They are really good cats and will be 18 this year. 

[supposebly]

54 minutes ago, Mindthinkr said:

We are patiently waiting for treats. 

I couldn't quote the pictures but they are gorgeous! Granted, I am biased.

Nothing quite like the intense stare of a black cat.

[Scarlett45]

56 minutes ago, Mindthinkr said:

We are patiently waiting for treats. 

I love them!!!! As you can probably tell by my profile picture (Scarlett died July 2014, Mr Norris June 2020)

[JTMacc99]

A friend of mine received a bag of "Gourmet Mix" birdseed with an online order. It was a mistake, but the company told her to keep it. She doesn't have a feeder, so she gave it to me.  Normally I fill my feeders with black oil sunflower seeds, and the birds are plentiful and go through about 40 pounds of food a week if not more.  I'm watching them now and in my head they're saying this:

[ABay]

Yesterday was the 10th anniversary of Girl Cat coming to live with me. We celebrated with catnip and brownies. She had the catnip.

[Mindthinkr]

28 minutes ago, ABay said:

Yesterday was the 10th anniversary of Girl Cat coming to live with me. We celebrated with catnip and brownies. She had the catnip.

She is a beauty and looks like my smaller cat Squeaky.
I’m glad that you had a celebration for her and she was treated with catnip. Brownies sound good too!

 

[JTMacc99]

The answer to the question, “Can the owner of a Golden Retriever sit down at the table and enjoy a quiet cup of coffee first thing in the morning?”:

 

[ginger90]

Elsie

[bosawks]

When you’re cleaning and hear whining behind you.....

[FlyingEgret]

1 hour ago, bosawks said:

When you’re cleaning and hear whining behind you.....

Obviously he just wants to help...

[Leeds]

On 2/10/2021 at 7:55 PM, Bastet said:

 

Slow and steady wins the race; if you gradually replace a larger and larger percentage of her usual food with what you want her to eat instead, she'll probably come around. 

Just like human children.  (In fact, cats tend to less obnoxious about the process.)

On 2/11/2021 at 7:11 AM, Growsonwalls said:

This is Pumpkin isn't she cute?

Darling.

[Nicmar]

On 2/18/2021 at 5:38 PM, bosawks said:

Blonde on Blonde

What a big pretty dog!

[EighteenTwelve]

Quirk says hi.  She lay around on her back kneading air for several minutes yesterday.  I think she might just be OK with living here.

[Mindthinkr]

Look at that adorable belly. I want to rub it, but I have cats and know better. She’s a cutie. 

[EighteenTwelve]

I had a meeting 15 minutes after I took this picture, and decided I didn't want to spend the entire time before the meeting applying bandaids, so I resisted the urge to try to scritch her stomach.

[Annber03]

Awwww, she sure looks happy indeed :D. 

I love it when cats rest on their backs. I remember one time I got up in the middle of the night to get something, and there was our cat Mitsi, just chilling in the middle of the living room floor, laying on her back, all content and relaxed. She just looked up at me like, "Hey. How's it going?" :p. 

[bilgistic]

Little Girl is the odd cat that loves belly rubs. She rolls over to show me her tummy and cocks her head sideways, looking up at me. I scritch and rub her belly and chest and it's heaven. Being chosen to serve a cat is a high honor.

[supposebly]

My Scully loooves them. She rolls on the floor to entice me.

Fox only allows it when she is asleep stretched out on her side along my legs. 

So, I am very honored.

I love Quirk's cross-eyes. So cute! That belly is very tempting.

[Bastet]

I've had more cats who enjoyed belly rubs than those who didn't, but, yeah, you need to find that out carefully!

When I see something like that, my urge shoots right past "want to rub" to "want to shove my face in there and smooch".  Since that is quite likely to result in 18 claws embedded in my scalp, I quell that urge.

Edited February 26, 2021 by Bastet

[bosawks]

20 hours ago, Nicmar said:

What a big pretty dog!

Awww, Alli says thank you.

And she’s even sweeter than she is big!

[Scarlett45]

13 hours ago, EighteenTwelve said:

Quirk says hi.  She lay around on her back kneading air for several minutes yesterday.  I think she might just be OK with living here.

She is so precious! What a doll. Does she like lap time?

[EighteenTwelve]

She's not a lap cat...yet.  She might be by next winter when the floors get cold again, though. 

[MargeGunderson]

Quirk is so adorable! She seems to be settling in nicely. 

Both of my cats like having their tummies scratched. Sophie loves it - she will flop down at our feet are roll round on her back like a dog, multiple times a day. Parker also likes it but isn’t quite as demanding about it as Sophie. She pretends to have a little dignity. 

[isalicat]

I've only had one cat that liked belly rubs, and he did not just like them, he loved and demanded them! This was Mister Oh, my previous tom who made it to 20 years old, and he was a huge cat - quite literally the size of a bobcat rather than a regular domestic feline. He would throw himself down on his back right in front of me as I was walking forward both inside and outside and being so large, I could either stop in time or basically fall over him depending on if I was paying sufficient attention! Once the tummy rubbing commenced, so did the purring...by the time he was a year old he had me super well trained 🙂

[Annber03]

Our cats like belly rubs, too :). They'll just happily lay there and let you scratch and rub them as long as need be. 

1 hour ago, isalicat said:

He would throw himself down on his back right in front of me as I was walking forward both inside and outside and being so large, I could either stop in time or basically fall over him depending on if I was paying sufficient attention!

Lily does this all the time. Not just for belly rubs, but in general. In the evenings, she'll be by the door waiting for my mom to get home from work, and sometimes my mom'll be bringing groceries home with her. I'll come to help carry them up the stairs and into our apartment, and every time I do so, once I'm inside, I have to literally try and usher Lily aside, because otherwise, she'll just plop herself down right in the middle of the hall and I'll have to try and walk around her with all these bags and whatnot. I swear one of these days, I'm gonna trip over her :p. 

Edited February 26, 2021 by Annber03

[Scarlett45]

I’m taking care of my Godmother’s dog Cosmo. She was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer in Fall 2019 and asked me to keep a spot for him (of course I agreed). On MLK night she called me and asked me would I come and get him- he’s been with me since then. I’ve dog sat for her for many years (long before Cosmo came into the picture) so I know a little bit about dogs but I’ve always been a cat person and grew up with cats. Cosmo is 8, so he’s not super energetic but he does like to play. My friends gave me a Kong toy he could care less about- however I remember when she first adopted him, my mom bought him a rabbit that squeaked. 
 

Here he is with his new duck squeak toy. He’s SO HAPPY!

[SuprSuprElevated]

❤️