Worldwide Beekeeping

General Discussion => Any and Every Thing => Topic started by: Les on February 12, 2018, 04:39:53 pm

Title: Exhaustion is setting in!
Post by: Les on February 12, 2018, 04:39:53 pm
We are in such a quandary.......our dear Nikky (18 year old cat) has gone deaf and to make thing worse he has dementia.  Yup, who knew a cat could develop dementia.  Other than that, the old boy is as healthy as an ox.  Found that out after a $240 senior cat lab profile, yeesh! Losing muscle tone and getting thin but never misses a meal, he actually beats the other two down the stairs at dinner time.    The dementia has manifested itself by him caterwauling all night long and to top it off, he does it in the bathroom so the tile can give it that extra echo effect.   We shut the bedroom door but his howling still gets through.  Just when we thought it couldn't get any worse, we had two cats fighting outdoors under our bedroom window and the ten pounds of terror sleeping with us was barking up a storm at the cats.  It was like we were sleeping at the zoo.   Howling, hissing, meowing, barking ahhhhhh!
I know, I know there are probably some of you (non cat lovers) thinking we need to send Nikky off onto a blazing Viking ship but just the thought of it makes me well up.  So, I have settled on a plan......if we can't sleep at night, he can't sleep during the day and I mean allllll day.  Every time, I catch him snoozing I am going to pick him up and cuddle him awake.  Stay tuned for the results.
(https://thumb.ibb.co/ctU5wS/IMG_6039.jpg) (https://ibb.co/ctU5wS)
Title: Re: Exhaustion is setting in!
Post by: Bakersdozen on February 12, 2018, 07:32:43 pm
"cuddle him awake"  Oh what a sweet way of managing your cat.  Instead of resenting his old age, you are making the most of it.  I am tearing up. 
Title: Re: Exhaustion is setting in!
Post by: Jen on February 12, 2018, 10:02:51 pm
Hi Les, if I were an old cat I would sure like for you to be my mommy  ;) 8)

Have you ever heard of or considered medical cannibus for your cat? I have been helping people and pets with CBD oil for a couple of years now. I'm thinking that doses of CBD cannibus will calm Nikky down at night.

https://www.allthebestpetcare.com/information-library/what-hemp-cbd-can-do-for-your-dog-or-cat/

https://consciouscat.net/2015/03/30/pot-for-pets-how-medical-marijuana-can-help-your-cat/
Title: Re: Exhaustion is setting in!
Post by: neillsayers on February 12, 2018, 11:01:48 pm
I agree with Jen, help the old fella zone out in his twilight.

I hope someone is as patient with me if I live that long.
Title: Re: Exhaustion is setting in!
Post by: Jen on February 13, 2018, 12:14:03 am
Me too Neil, I have a friend who is taking care of her 90 year old mother who is in full on alzheimers and is a screamer. She's been giving her dear mom CBD oil in her cup of tea with honey and milk every morning, for a couple months now. Mom isn't screaming anymore and is actually engaging in conversation again. Incredible and such a blessing of peace in the household.
Title: Re: Exhaustion is setting in!
Post by: neillsayers on February 13, 2018, 02:08:29 am
Jen,

Don't mean to hijack Les's thread but it wasn't until recently I had been made aware of the medicinal uses of cannabis. It shows a lot of promise.


How old is an 18 yo cat in human years? Just wondering, I know it would be an ancient dog.
Title: Re: Exhaustion is setting in!
Post by: Les on February 13, 2018, 12:07:49 pm
I love this forum, everyone has such great insights and ideas.  Thanks Jen, I never even thought about the CBD.  Any suggestions as to what strength I should purchase?

Update:  He only woke us twice last night!
Title: Re: Exhaustion is setting in!
Post by: Jen on February 13, 2018, 12:54:00 pm
Les, I would start here, follow the instructions on the bottle for the weight of you cat.

https://www.amazon.com/Hemp-Oil-Dogs-Cats-375mg/dp/B07913GY4C/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1518543365&sr=8-2&keywords=cbd+for+cats+and+dogs

You need to know that you cannot overdose with CBD medication with your pets. The most important thing to know and follow is that the oil or treats you give Nikky does not contain any THC. So don't use any medical marijuana from anyone's home made recipe.

If after about 1 week, if Nikky is still anxious, double the dose, it won't hurt her in any way. The smart way to use CBD is to move up slowly with the dosage until you feel Nikky is comfortable. Take a couple of weeks to do this. Don't be afraid to be generous with you dosage but remember that, for example, 10 drops of oil does the trick, then 20 drops is simple a loss of medicine and money.

I'll make a seperate post about how I helped my sweet elderly dog with CBD.

Title: Re: Exhaustion is setting in!
Post by: Les on February 13, 2018, 04:25:19 pm
You are a sweetheart, thank you so much
Title: Re: Exhaustion is setting in!
Post by: Jen on February 13, 2018, 11:20:07 pm
You are so welcome Les...

My story with my Katy.
(https://s9.postimg.cc/wkvb49viz/DSCF0953.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/image/wkvb49viz/)

Katy lived to be 14 years old. She was about 3 years when we noticed some slight wobbliness every once in a while. By the time she was 12 years she was having several seizures a day. They didn't really alter her life or cause her any pain tho, until she was 13, then she was having trouble with falling down, and also trouble holding up her back end so she could pooh. She was in good spirits and still a hearty appetite. Then arthritis set in deeper and she would stay in our bedroom and sleep a lot. So I started the CBD oil in her food twice a day ( I make my own). Within a week, she started coming out into the livingroom with us again, she would come out into the back yard and watch us mow the lawn. She was able to get up and down the stairs to the back yard and hold her rump up without falling down to pooh. She wagged her tail more. However, by the time she reached 14 she was filled with cancer, so we took her to the vet and sent her to heaven. I believe with all of my heart that the last year of her life was so much more comfortable. Now, I make my own oil for myself and arthritis, and for others in pain, and for others and their pets. Very gratifying. Keep us posted on your sweet Nikky ~Hugs
Title: Re: Exhaustion is setting in!
Post by: Les on February 18, 2018, 10:58:26 pm
Jen we all do the best we can to keep our pets healthy and happy, you are an inspiration for me.
Have not received the oil yet but I started feeding some extra food around 11 pm and he seems to have quieted down a bit, except he still doesn't miss 5 am.  I forgot to mention he is a Herpes Virus carrier, so it has caused him some health issues through out his life.  Such as excessive drooling and eyes that run.  If I give him 500 mg of Lysine twice a day it helps keep the ravages of the virus down.  I got forgetful and stopped giving it to him but I am back on the regime again and he seems ever so slightly perkier.  Sometimes I sit and watch him at night to watch for respiration and then I cry....... I am such a wimp.
Title: Re: Exhaustion is setting in!
Post by: Jen on February 19, 2018, 12:55:33 am
I can't wait for you to get your medicine for him. He's so lucky to have you to take care of him. Keep us posted, I'll be eager to hear.
Title: Re: Exhaustion is setting in!
Post by: riverbee on February 21, 2018, 11:53:36 pm
les, i have no advice to offer.........just encouragement.....do what you need to do!
i love my critters and have always taken care of them......my critters ......they took care of me. any critter lover knows what i am saying. they are family.
i have spent a great deal of money on vet bills and more.......held them when they were sick, nursed them back to health with the help of a vet, long term treatment for a disease or whatever, and have spent many sleepless nights and worrisome times.
i get it.

for some folks that aren't cat lovers.......oh well. no different than those who have other critters they care about.

like jen said, keep us posted about nikky!
Title: Re: Exhaustion is setting in!
Post by: Les on March 16, 2018, 02:34:56 pm
Just an update on Nikky.  Tried the CBD but it did nothing for him.  Back to the vet and much to my dismay, we had to put him on Xanax.  I have been functioning on about 4-5 hrs sleep on a good night because his caterwauling would be intermittent all night. First dose of Xanax and I am a wreck watching him stumble and tumble.  He fell down the basement stairs because he is loopy, so I had to move the litter box upstairs and will have to figure out a way to keep him out of the basement but let the other two cats get downstairs.  :\'(
Title: Re: Exhaustion is setting in!
Post by: Jen on March 16, 2018, 03:15:48 pm
I'm so sorry for you guys and for Nikky. Did you try and double the dose of the CBD? It won't hurt him nor make him wonky, he may just need more.
Title: Re: Exhaustion is setting in!
Post by: Perry on March 16, 2018, 05:22:26 pm
We do what we do, and when it comes to our pets, no regrets.
In the last month, Copper broke a toe on her left rear paw (cost us $450 to have that figured out) and if we choose to have the toe removed another $1,000. We decided to wait and she seems to be just fine with the crooked toe.
Two weeks later we are at the dog park and as Penny ran past a young black lab it nipped her in the left flank. Greyhounds have tissue paper for skin so needless to say it opened her up pretty good, 2 several inches long gashes. This of course happens Saturday evening so emergency call out for the vet, sedation and a whack of stitches ($551).
If this keeps up I am gonna have to get another job. ;D
Title: Re: Exhaustion is setting in!
Post by: riverbee on March 16, 2018, 05:54:13 pm
oh i love giving pills to kitties!......... :D

les, do you isolate him at night?

when he crashes, where does he crash (nap)? might have some thoughts for you.
Title: Re: Exhaustion is setting in!
Post by: neillsayers on March 16, 2018, 09:08:59 pm
Perry,

poor little Penny, all she was doing was winning-don't you hate sore losers. :)
Title: Re: Exhaustion is setting in!
Post by: Jen on March 16, 2018, 09:48:56 pm
River brought a thought to mind.

Les, there is pet day care, would there be pet night care? I'll bet so, because lots of people work nights.

Or, maybe pet night care during the week when you have to get up in the morning. Or, pet night care on weekends when you would like to sleep in and have a nap too.

There is the expense tho

Title: Re: Exhaustion is setting in!
Post by: Les on March 17, 2018, 01:33:48 am
Jen, I did double the dose.....made no difference.
My other two boys get sequestered in the basement at night and as I write, 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. I have to feed him in the bathroom and shut the door when he is eating because my stinker pup likes to bogart his food.  Fingers crossed we can manage his issues. It is the least I can do for him.  In his younger days he was quite an empathic cat and got me through some very, very dark days.  So, that is why he is so special to me.  Time to pay it forward as they say.  I am retired and i am home most days.  I think day care would be upsetting to him since it would take him away from his familiar environment.
Perry, poor Penny....she’s had a rough go of things hasn’t she?  And Cooper too?  Good thing they have good parents.
Thanks everyone for your big hearts!

Title: Re: Exhaustion is setting in!
Post by: Jen 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
Title: Re: Exhaustion is setting in!
Post by: riverbee 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.
Title: Re: Exhaustion is setting in!
Post by: Les 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. 
(https://s17.postimg.cc/4w79gwft7/79_B795_C7-_F2_F9-4_FE0-_B212-_C150_EB667_F23.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/image/4w79gwft7/)
Title: Re: Exhaustion is setting in!
Post by: Jen 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.
Title: Re: Exhaustion is setting in!
Post by: riverbee 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!




Title: Re: Exhaustion is setting in!
Post by: Les on March 29, 2018, 11:53:17 am
(https://thumb.ibb.co/cSGXh7/4940_B709_4_C0_D_4_DCD_AA14_696_C9_BFC3_DA0.jpg) (https://ibb.co/cSGXh7)

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? 
Title: Re: Exhaustion is setting in!
Post by: riverbee 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. 

Title: Re: Exhaustion is setting in!
Post by: Les 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.
Title: Re: Exhaustion is setting in!
Post by: riverbee 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!
Title: Re: Exhaustion is setting in!
Post by: Jen 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.
Title: Re: Exhaustion is setting in!
Post by: riverbee on April 10, 2018, 05:52:01 pm
les, how's nikki doing?

and........ how are YOU doing?........ :D
Title: Re: Exhaustion is setting in!
Post by: Les 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. 
Title: Re: Exhaustion is setting in!
Post by: Jen on April 11, 2018, 02:33:55 pm
Sending you and Nikki peace and comfort ~Hugs~

(https://thumb.ibb.co/b52iBc/yogi_with_heart.jpg) (https://ibb.co/b52iBc)