I don't think I ever posted about my concerns on Toonces - my oldest cat. He's 15. My roommate & I got him in college and I kept him because she couldn't afford him on her own. So, he's traveled back & forth on breaks from Salisbury, been through several moves with me, etc. I love him dearly.
About 4 years ago he had a tumor on his leg that was removed. Within a couple of months, it came back. I decided to have his leg removed because the vet said it was likely it would continue to come back - but wasn't a type of cancer that would spread. He was healthy except for that. So, he recovered well from that.
Over the past few years he's lost weight. He was never a big cat (like Kramer is) anyway, but he was getting so skinny that people were commenting on it. I took him to the vet a month ago and she took blood to test for hyperthyroidism - this came back negative. She wanted to test for diabetes and if that was negative, consider that it might be cancer. However, key symptoms of those problems are lack of appetite and increased thirst. He has neither. He's hungry all the time. So, I decided to test my theory -- that we were starving him. Sad, I know.
Let me explain. Frequently, he would throw up immediately after eating. I guess he ate too fast. So, after being tired of cleaning it up all the time, we decided to cut back on what we gave him. The original idea was that if he didn't throw up, we'd give him more at that time. But, life got busy and we didn't do that.
So, I bought special "senior" food that is good for sensitive tummies and am giving him lots more. He chowed...and never threw up. I took him to the vet last week to have him weighed and talk about my theory. I told her I would still do the tests if she felt he needed them. However, he has gained 1 pound in 1 month. That's a huge percentage of body weight. The vet was thrilled. She said there is no need for tests and that I am welcome to bring him in anytime to weigh him so I can make sure he continues to gain.
Anyway, I'm quite happy that it isn't anything serious, but can't tell you how horrible I feel that we were starving him!!!! Poor little guy. Life is hard enough with Lacey chasing him. You'd think he could at least count on a decent meal.
What about the children?
3 years ago
2 comments:
So how were you to know you were starving him? It wasn't intentional and you were just trying to figure out what his problem was. Don't beat yourself up over it. He's doing good now, right? And that's all that counts. Just keep getting him weighed about once a month and makes sure he doesn't start losing. You're a good mommy!
I just thought about this - no wonder Tooncie was such a beggar!! But he's always been a beggar. And don't feel too bad - your cats live better than some people! ;>)
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