in article 424e3a0c@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Tara K. at
tara_k@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
wrote on 4/2/05 12:22AM:
> "Karen" <kchuplis@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote in message
> news:BE735C2A.69B7D%kchuplis@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>> in article 424df72e@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Tara K. at
>> tara_k@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
wrote on 4/1/05 7:36 PM:
>>
>>> "Mathew Kagis" <winesnob@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote in message
>>> news:%li3e.155390$fc4.98153@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>>>> WOW!!! Funny though, the images were a little blurry, no I'm not
crying
>>>> there's something in my eye!!!! Really!!!!
>>>
>>> Oh, really! ;)
>>>
>>>> Good on you!! Hope Princess continues to improve. How old is she? Or
do
>>>> you
>>>> know?
>>>
>>> She's ancient, is all we know. There's no way to tell just *how* old,
but
>>> "really, REALLY old" is a good approximation. Two clues: all her claws
>>> are
>>> extremely thickened, and her eyes have a lot of black dots, both signs
of
>>> very advanced age.
>>>
>>> How she made it this far living wild is anyone's guess, but she's a
>>> fighter
>>> alright. A lot of cats would have just quietly expired somewhere out
of
>>> the
>>> way. *She* chose my mother's house to stagger into on Boxing Day, the
>>> only
>>> real cat lover's house on the whole street. Other people on the street
>>> had
>>> seen her hanging around, but hadn't thought to do anything about it -
>>> like
>>> try to feed her something, for instance (she's not a timid cat) . .
.less
>>> said about that, the better.
>>>
>>> Anyhow, the amazing thing is, apart from starvation and severe
arthritis,
>>> there's not a whole lot wrong with her health-wise - no diabetes, no
cat
>>> AIDS, no infections, nothing. When she came in she had pressure sores
on
>>> her
>>> back leg and on both hips, and she's got a tendency to develop ulcers
on
>>> her
>>> chin (from dribbling), she doesn't always make it to the toilet in
time,
>>> but
>>> otherwise she's a perfectly healthy cat. Ghod only know what her story
>>> is,
>>> we're guessing that she perhaps just got too old to hunt and gradually
>>> starved, but she's been someone's pet at some stage, there's no doubt.
>>>
>>> Another milestone last night: she's gotten up the courage to sleep in
my
>>> bedroom. I made her a cozy, out of the way of the-herd-of-elephants
(aka
>>> my
>>> other cats), place in the cupboard. She looked at me to ask "is it ok
if
>>> I
>>> sleep here?" (living with this cat is a *constant* heart breaker) and
>>> after
>>> a few pats settled down there. Up until now she would only sleep in
the
>>> spare bedroom, which was also her "safety" room, although she'd cry
for
>>> me
>>> to come in from time to time, but would *not* stay in my bedroom. The
>>> weather here is starting to turn cold (I'm in Western Australia) so it
>>> was
>>> im****tant to try to get her where I can keep her a bit warmer.
>>>
>>> TK
>>>
>>>
>>>
>> Awwww. I'm so glad she felt safe enough to do that. SHe seems like just
>> such
>> a sweetheart! Do you weigh her regularly?
>
>
> Yup. She started at 2kg (which is about 4.5lbs), she's now up to 2.5kg .
.
> .. still much too thin, and she loses that weight again all too easily
if
> she goes off her food for any reason.
>
> If she hasn't put on another half-kilo or so in the next few months I'm
> strongly considering taking her into the vet for a few days on a drip or
for
> force-feeding, although this would obviously be so traumatic that it's a
> last resort kind of a thing. She's just so incredibly fragile, all bones
and
> skin and not a lot else there. I'd like her to have a bit more weight on
her
> as a buffer in case of infection, etc, but I think it's a one day at a
time
> sort of thing. She has good and bad days appetite-wise but this is
slowly
> improving, and she's eating more each day.
>
> Slowly, slowly I think is the key if she's ever going to put on any real
> condition, although I'm well aware that given her age and the extremely
> starved state she was in I could well only have her for a few months.
But
> you never know with cats, she's got the kind of spirit which may well
see
> her good for another few years.
>
> Here's hoping, anyhow.
>
> TK
>
>
Most definitely. We will send purrs out to Princess every day for
improvement.
|
