Sunday, September 27, 2020

The Josie Report

Some have asked how Josie is doing. My Chubs is all right. I think it is a matter of her having bad days and good, and days that are in between. I can tell that sometimes she feels quite well: she eats, even indulges in a little soft-food, takes an interest in what’s going on outside the apartment and plays. At other times, she doesn’t eat much, is slower in movement and pauses in mid-action. I think, now, that this is less confusion than a reaction to the aches and pains due to her age.

I have stopped giving her the liquid joint-medicine, as it seemed to be troubling her: she would swallow continually for some time after I would give it to her. I had the feeling that it was causing some problems for her, perhaps more than it was solving.

But Josie’s movements up and down the bed and cat-trees are less abrupt since I put in a third set of stairs against the bed. I believe she is dropping less from the bed to the floor when she wants a drink of water. I think she had done this simply to save the time and effort of using some of the stairs that were farther away from where she wanted to go.

She is also enjoying the warmth generated in the heated cat-bed, now once more installed where Cammie used it. She doesn’t lie in it all the time, but probably will more, once the weather turns colder. I think it helps her, feeling the heat in her body. As well, it is near Cammie’s Bowl, which encourages her to drink.

While I would like my old lady to eat more, and consume more soft-food, her own plans are sufficient for the time being. I will forego a visit to the doctor for now. I find that trying to get cats to do or take things for their health is often a question of whether it will add to their well-being while also subtracting from it. At Josie’s age, I will err on the side of her comfort and ease, rather than her actual health. There is no advantage to facilitating a longer life if such facilitation diminishes enjoyment. Cats don’t know why they are being deprived of this, or being forced to take that. The very provision of some cure may obviate its benefits.

So Josie and I will work together on her future. She will tell me what she wants, and I will try to give it, slipping in what she needs, when I can. Perhaps between the two of us we will make her very senior years contented.

16 comments:

  1. Very wisely put. With your help, Josie will chart her own path. That’s essentially all cat owners can do.

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  2. Your idea to let Josie follow her own path is a good one. Cats are smart. They know what they need to feel comfortable, and the best we humans can do is listen to what they're telling us and comply with their wishes.

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  3. Bless! The little lady..
    AND you to John..Happy Families comes to
    mind straight away..we all get old..but
    Hey! If we can hang in there, especially
    with family and friends..it's a great help..! :).

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  4. I agree with you and certainly Roerta and Undine. Thank goodness she has gotten more like herself. I would also have discontinued the medicine seeing a reaction like that. Makes me think she was on the edge of wretching.

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  5. Wise indeed to focus on Josie's comfort and ease.

    Was the joint supplement a pet version of glucosamine? I have extremely severe GERD (or GERD-like symptoms) and I have discovered via personal experience and Googling that glucosamine can actually cause or exacerbate heartburn/gastric discomfort in humans. It's quite possible that might be the case with cats as well.

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    1. The product is Aventi Joint-Treatment, but what it contains in the way of chemicals, I don’t know. I will take a look at the bottle when I get home and see if it gives details. It can be scary what medicines contain, or what side-effects they may have.

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  6. I think that sweetheart is good at telling you what she needs and wants.

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  7. It is so stressful for a cat to be trundled up and taken to the vet
    if it can be avoided. With warmth and love and the food and water
    at her beckon, Josie will keep on keeping on. Nice she can use steps
    for ups and downs and go to her usual places of comfort.

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  8. Josie, hang in there, sweetie!
    I had a stern lecture from a mutual friend of ours, John, and was told that I need to keep the quality of my cat care in sync with what the cat can...and will...handle.
    Which is exactly what you are doing!

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  9. josie; pleez ta tell yur dad ta google "self warming pet matts"; they troo lee honest lee for sure noe doubt....werk.....cuzin boomer had two, daiz uzez em, N bee coz oh my size; eye uze one thatz reel lee for dawgz....noe plug in... ore batreez reequired N they iz like de BEST !!!! ☺☺☺♥♥♥

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  10. I'd say you're doing what is best for Josie, by allowing her to live her senior life comfortably. Years ago, my mother's doctor told me that we have let people, and I'd hazard to say our pets, to live until they die. My Sasha spends most of his days eating, yelling every so often for something to eat or having a drink. He's still using the litter box and likes to cuddle up with me at night. I think he has some joint pain, his eyesight seems to be going, and he's pretty much deaf but he seems generally content. That's good enough for me.

    Take care and stay well.

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  11. You know Josie better than anyone so can see what helps her and what doesn't. Sometimes the medication causes more problems than the ailment. Believe me I know from my previous meds which really made me struggle!

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    1. I hope what you are currently prescribed is gentler on you. You don't need to fight two battles at once.

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  12. Having had cats for many years you come to the understanding that they know what they need, mostly, for their day to day comfort and continuance. May we be so enlightened in our frailer days

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