"jminer" (jminer)
10/01/2020 at 12:05 • Filed to: None
4
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"jminer" (jminer)
10/01/2020 at 12:05 • Filed to: None | 4
| 16 |
Since we’re moving in a matter of weeks it was time to get the critters of the house to the Vet. We’ve been there three times in 2 weeks now but I think we’re done.
We took the dog there 2 weeks ago and were ver y worried it’d be her last visit as she is 11 and been having a lot of trouble moving around but they gave us a new arthritis medicine to try since the last one didn’t help.
First thing Monday morning I dropped off Mollie - a very chubby and vocal 12 year old cat. She was not pleased. She needed a thorough checkup as she should weigh 6-7 pounds but weighs 10 and also to have her front claws removed. Yes I know it’s not nice to do, but she’s been very destructive with them and we’re going to be renting so her front claws need to go.
This cat has always been very vocal, she will scream constantly until she gets what she wants (hence why she is tubby) and the vet ended up putting the cat in a room by herself to try to keep the non-stop screaming under check. Apparently the overnight vet-tech nearly quit over her screaming.
Other than her being loud as hell though she’s a nice cat and is in extremely good health and is expected to make it another 3 years.
Next up we have Pip
He is almost 15, and shockingly healthy other than being insane. This isn’t new, he’s always been insane. The only person he likes is my Wife and runs from me every time I get close. He actually went catatonic during the vet visit as he got overstimulated. Also yes, he has a hitler mustache. He was just there for bloodwork, checkup and vaccines.
Finally the giant dog Gracie came again for a check in after her new meds.
Her new arthritis meds made a world of difference, and even though she’s still an old dog made her able to move like she was 8 again and not 11.
Photo: Taken by me and my wife at my vet’s office!
Punchline is that the vet has never seen this many old critters this healthy. They have a nice live living in a climate controlled house sleeping on beds and couches with regular doses of love. Also we’ve spent nearly $1,500 at the vet this month!
Since they’re all going to live at least another year I get to find a rental place that will let me have 3 critters, this will be expensive...
smobgirl
> jminer
10/01/2020 at 12:10 |
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We use PawCBD chewies and it seems to help with arthritis.
I’m a little...disturbed that you have assigned expiration dates for all of your pets.
For Sweden
> jminer
10/01/2020 at 12:11 |
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jminer
> smobgirl
10/01/2020 at 12:14 |
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They’re not expiration dates, but expected years left we have with them. It’s how long the vet told us they’d likely live to after this checkup. All of them have already lived a very long, happy life. We were shocked when she said that the 15 year old cat will likely live another 3-5 years.
She’s on Deramaxx and while it’s fairly expensive ($100 a month) it’s working well.
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jminer
> For Sweden
10/01/2020 at 12:15 |
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Pretty much yes, also that 10 pound cat bosses the hell out of that 110 pound dog.
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smobgirl
> jminer
10/01/2020 at 12:27 |
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My dog was given 6-12 months because of a cancer diagnosis...three years ago.
The last cat that passed at about 9 years old was healthy until his liver randomly failed over the course of like, three days. He was a little off, we got bloodwork which was a little off but nothing scary, got meds, he died like the next morning. Veterinary medicine still doesn’t know enough about cats to judge anything about their lifespan and I would be hesitant to trust a vet who thought they did.
CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever
> smobgirl
10/01/2020 at 12:31 |
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We all have expiry dates, as do our pets. You can ignore them, but the fact that they exist and get closer as health issues crop up is inescapable .
Sometimes when I look at Targa (nearly 2) and think of the estimated lifespan, I get very sad, but that’s life.
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jminer
> CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever
10/01/2020 at 12:44 |
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This is true, we've been lucky with Gracie and she's already lived well past the average for her size and breed but we also had a St Bernard that only made it to 7.
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CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever
> jminer
10/01/2020 at 12:53 |
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My last dog had a friend who lived until 3 and had cancer. Sad stuff
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jminer
> CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever
10/01/2020 at 13:25 |
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Oof that hurts
barnie
> jminer
10/01/2020 at 13:39 |
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Please, don’t declaw your cat. Declawing a cat is a torture o f the worst kind. Even worse to do this to a mature cat. Use double sided sticky tape, thump their paws when claws-out or use a squirt-bottle to discipline your cat. Change the furniture, have specific scratching places, or find other methods on these interwebs. (Glad I didn’t publish the 1st version of this post...)
newnamesameme
> jminer
10/01/2020 at 13:49 |
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good luck to you, your wife, and your pets. Ive been there when renting with pets and it can be a real struggle.
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jminer
> barnie
10/01/2020 at 13:54 |
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I know it’s not ideal which is why we don’t always do it , 2 of 4 of the cat’s we’ve had have been declawed (now 3 out of 4) . Outside of being less able to climb and being less destructive it’s had extremely minimal impacts on them. She’s a 100% indoor cat and a terrible mouser anyway.
The other cat we had declawed was still a very active cat who was the best mouser we’ve ever had. He’d regularly kill rabbits and squirrels, was about the size of a bobcat and passed after catching a nasty infection from a racoon he got into a fight with (he also killed the racoon).
We only do it with a vet we trust that uses laser surgery equipment which makes it nearly painless with no wounds to heal. We made a mistake with the white cat and had it done at a vet which didn’t use laser surgery equipment and we’ll never do that again. His paws hurt him for the longest time and they’re still a bit sensitive.
She’s already nearly back to her old self and it only happened Monday . We’ve tried countless scratchers and training tools, her favorite scratching spot was door jams . Not a big deal since we own our house now , but a much bigger one when renting.
We love these critters like they are our kids (as we have no kids). We have also had several pets with long-term chronic conditions which required expensive treatments and annoying issues (like long-term liquid shit and only are put to sleep when the condition becomes bad enough to affect their quality of life substantially.
This was not a decision we came to lightly, it was after much conversation between my wife and I along with a lengthy discussion with our vet.
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jminer
> newnamesameme
10/01/2020 at 13:54 |
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Thanks! It’s definitely going to cost a pretty penny in deposits for them, and that’s after we find a place that will let us have all of them.
Any tips? I’ve never rented with pets before.
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newnamesameme
> jminer
10/01/2020 at 14:39 |
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read the lease fine print. You may open yourself up to random spot checks to make sure that the number of pets in your place are the number and kind that you listed in your lease,
It might be worthwhile to regularly rent and/o invest in a steam cleaner for the carpets and do the carpets (if they exist) every 4-6 weeks cause you will get dinged hard by the rental place.
Cats throw up, dogs scratch stuff.. Regarding baseboard stains/scratches those Mr Clean sponge erasers are great. They clean up everything..theyre magic if you dont have those already.
Depending on where youre looking it might be worthwhile to rent in a slightly older building vs a brand new building because a new building will most definitely be more hardcore about pets.
Hang in there.
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smobgirl
> CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever
10/01/2020 at 17:02 |
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I think I’m more thinking - don’t count on what they expect. Because if you think oh, he’ll make it another five years and then is really sick in six months, it can be harder to take.
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CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever
> smobgirl
10/01/2020 at 17:04 |
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That’s probably a good point. Cherish the time you have now , don’t look to the future