Author Topic: Exhaustion is setting in!  (Read 3936 times)

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Offline Jen

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Re: Exhaustion is setting in!
« Reply #20 on: March 17, 2018, 01:47:49 am »
Les, you are laying a splendid path of kindness along your way. I understand your bond with Nikki, and the feelings of responsibility to keep loving her until the time she goes to heaven. And in turn she will be at the heavenly door when it's your time.

A year ago, we decided to put our dear Katy dog down, she was filled with painful cancer. She comes to visit me once in a while. I love that soo much!
 
Hugs for you Les
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Offline riverbee

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Re: Exhaustion is setting in!
« Reply #21 on: March 17, 2018, 02:54:14 pm »
"Nikky is curled up sleeping next to me.  That is a big change, he usually paces all night. During the day he is in his bed next to the heat but any suggestions are welcome. "

because that's where he wants to be les, to be close, safe and warm.
nikky has lost a sensory function and a cognitive function; he is deaf and has dementia. what a scary world that must be for him!

if i was deaf and had dementia?

(ps my father is almost deaf and has dementia.)

think of this in terms of humans. my great grandmother became deaf in her senior years, as did my mother. (gee what do i have to look forward to?)
my granny developed this BIG VOICE, because she couldn't hear herself.  when my mothers hearing aid batteries quit on her, BIG VOICE, she can't hear herself. nikky can't hear himself.  if i was out of my granny's sight, the BIG VOICE became BIGGER until she found me, or i appeared because of the BIG VOICE.  she still had her sight and could sense/feel vibration. nikky has his sight and can also probably sense/feel vibration.

when daytime winds down and all go to sleep, there is no motion, no activity, no vibrations, and nikky can't 'see' you, there is confusion with dementia. it is quiet and silent.  he is not being stimulated or feeling safe as he does in the daytime environment with activity going on.  you pet him, feed him, care for him. at night what a 'dark' world this must be for him. his health issues are causing the yowling, and maybe in part, nikky's saying "where are you?". 

my granny always turned in very early. i didn't and she didn't like it.  she would wander her small rustic cabin looking for me or calling out to me during the night in that LOUD VOICE.  i finally wound up sleeping in the same room with her when i stayed with her just to get some sleep..... :D
even then, she sometimes woke me during the night just to make sure i was there. safety. she was safe i was safe. it's comforting to know someone is there. she took care of me and i took care of her.

it's an analogy les, but critters are no different. their needs are no different than ours, just that their attention getting behavior and vocal chords work differently........ :D

also, critters love warmth and heat, especially as they age and/or suffer health/joint issues. this is what i would try and have done myself. i purchased a couple pet heating pads, and i would slip these under wherever they slept. a pillow/blanket on the couch/bed etc...., or under their favorite 'bucket'. (cat bed), and had extra of these. (don't use regular heating pads even on low, these run too hot for animals).  at night the heated bucket or an extra followed and was right next to me on the floor. i tried at the foot of the bed.........well that doesn't work too well if the cat winds up on the floor. 
i had one kitty, so sick with cancer, we let him sleep between us. he slept, we slept.  better than me wandering around at night (worried)trying to find him and quiet him down or figure out why he's not vocalizing.

it's just a thought les. it's what i have done, and like you, then some. you are a good soul les for caring for him.
i keep wild things in a box..........™
if you obey the rules, you miss all the fun.....katherine hepburn
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Offline Les

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Re: Exhaustion is setting in!
« Reply #22 on: March 17, 2018, 03:49:22 pm »
Riverbee, thank you so much for your insight it helps a great deal.  I will invest in a couple of those pads.
I have been down with asthmatic/bronchitis and look who came to snuggle me. 

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Offline Jen

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Re: Exhaustion is setting in!
« Reply #23 on: March 17, 2018, 05:19:03 pm »
You guys are making me ball buckets here...  :\'(

When Katy couldn't jump up on the bed for our afternoon nap anymore. We would lift her up, and often she would whine real hard, but once she was up she would lay the exact same way every afternoon, right up against my left side. Now, Phoebe does the same thing, she curls up at the base of my legs and waits for the blanket across her and my legs. My favorite part of the day.
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Offline riverbee

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Re: Exhaustion is setting in!
« Reply #24 on: March 17, 2018, 07:57:38 pm »
les, a wonderful heart warming photograph! nikky is now 'taking care' of you! 
they know when we are not feeling well!
sorry to hear of the asthmatic/bronchitis.......get well soon!

jen, didn't mean for you to be a cryin'.... :D
tears are a good thing.....shows your compassion and caring......but i already knew that.  8)
i am guessing you don't regret anything you did for katy....and i am guessing you still miss her.
i would too!

les, already said it.........get well soon!...........and enjoy nikky!




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Offline Les

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Re: Exhaustion is setting in!
« Reply #25 on: March 29, 2018, 11:53:17 am »


Nikky update ........I took Riverbee’s suggestion and bought a pet heating pad.  He is quite content don’t you think?  The only time he is not in his bed is if the sun is out on the sun porch or he is on my chest.

The Xanax was an absolute nightmare!  No offense to fellow former sailor beeks but he was like a drunken
Sailor.  He fell 2/3’s of the way down the cellar stairs before I could stop him.  I stopped breathing for a second or two when that happened. But he got up no worse for wear!  But a few days of that stuff and I stopped it.

He has gotten so thin, I decided to feed him numerous times a day.  I used to feed my boys twice a day.  I never gave them dry food because it is bad for their urinary tract (especially males).  So now I put food down in front of him several times throughout the day.  Surprisingly, this has reduced his caterwauling to just
4:30 am.  I stagger out, feed him and we both go back to bed.  Who knew stepping up the feeding would be
the fix? 
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Offline riverbee

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Re: Exhaustion is setting in!
« Reply #26 on: March 29, 2018, 10:38:01 pm »
awesome picture les, thank you!

les are you feeding dry food or wet food?
maybe try some wet food (in small amounts) several times a day or as much as he will eat, if you haven't already, and warm it up in the micro just a bit before you feed it to him.

not sure he will gain much weight back les, but maybe sustain him, give him some protein that he needs. 

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if you obey the rules, you miss all the fun.....katherine hepburn
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Offline Les

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Re: Exhaustion is setting in!
« Reply #27 on: March 30, 2018, 02:32:07 am »
He only ever gets canned wet food.  I stopped giving my boys dry food a long time ago.  He is quite content with it right out of the can.  I doubt he will gain weight back too because I think his weight loss is due to muscle wasting.  When all he does is sleep, it is no surprise he is losing muscle.

Offline riverbee

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Re: Exhaustion is setting in!
« Reply #28 on: March 31, 2018, 10:32:57 pm »
thanks les.

they like the heat from those heating pads, irregardless of the issue. health, senior years, arthritis, critters love them. 
i also use them when i have a bird/critter i wind up with.

the wet food i get (especially for male cats and U/A problems).  i have also fed mine dry food formulated to 'prevent' it......or after they have suffered from some U/A anomaly...........cha ching.........oh well! i would do it again!

picture is too cool!
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Offline Jen

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Re: Exhaustion is setting in!
« Reply #29 on: March 31, 2018, 10:50:52 pm »
Love this pic of Nikki, love his tail markings, glad he's on a nice warm bed and that he has you Les.
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Offline riverbee

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Re: Exhaustion is setting in!
« Reply #30 on: April 10, 2018, 05:52:01 pm »
les, how's nikki doing?

and........ how are YOU doing?........ :D
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Offline Les

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Re: Exhaustion is setting in!
« Reply #31 on: April 11, 2018, 11:08:48 am »
Thanks for checking on him.   Thru trial and
error I no longer feed him with his brothers.  I have found that if I put his food down in front of him all day long, he will chow down a little and fall back to sleep.  He gets his last feeding (while I am still awake) around 11 pm. He still cries at night but much less.  It usually happens around 4:30 am, so I get up and feed him and then he quiets down.  My sleep is interrupted but not as often as before.  I can live with that.  From what I have read, cats with dementia forget to eat. Sometimes he stares at the bowl and doesn’t approach it for several minutes.  It’s almost as if he can’t remember what it is but eventually the scent of the food reminds him what it’s for.  He stills loves his petting and head butts me when he’s awake.  He still finds the litter box which is a relief.  We have decided that when he starts having accidents around the house, then it will be time to let him go. 
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Offline Jen

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Re: Exhaustion is setting in!
« Reply #32 on: April 11, 2018, 02:33:55 pm »
Sending you and Nikki peace and comfort ~Hugs~


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