I won’t lie: the last couple of weeks have been tough. Some of the stress going on I’m sharing here, others I’m not yet ready to share on the blog. In the scheme of things, though, I’m still pretty lucky and I’m still writing my gratitude list every night.
Pull up chair and mug with Coco and Deborah and me for the ultimate coffee tea date.
If we were enjoying high tea . . .
I took Gizmo to the vet for a long overdue annual, which was part of my stress this week, but the one nice thing from that visit is the vet said he has the teeth of a seven year old cat. He’s 17. He only had one dental, when he was five. Aside from a very short time when he was a wee kitten, before he came to us, he never ate kibble in his life.
We raised him on raw, although we switched back to canned several years ago when his brother got sick, but over the last few years we’ve fed a mixture of canned and raw — it gets harder and harder to keep him eating all the time, although inexplicably he’s actually a little overweight for the first time in his life. He doesn’t eat much at one time, and I’ve actually cut back on his food somewhat.
He’s not very overweight, though, and at his age, they can lose a lot of weight quickly so being just a little overweight isn’t always a bad thing (but it’s never a good thing if they’re really overweight, of course) — the vet didn’t seem worried.
Unfortunately, as I suspected, he’s in kidney failure. The good news is he’s still eating okay and keeping himself hydrated so at this point in time he doesn’t need fluids — very good, considering we have a vacation coming up!
Funny story: Gizmo has never been into people food, unlike his brother Simba who had some really weird tastes. Chicken, turkey, beef — of course. The one real exception is melon — which is not so uncommon with cats. Simba once ate through the rind of a cantaloupe I had ripening on the counter.
Anyway, if I eat melon he’s right there demanding some. If Mr. Judy eats melon? Crickets. The other day Mr. Judy was having some with breakfast — nothing. So I got the bowl from him and sat down near Giz and he immediately demanded his share.
He’s still purring and happy, thank goodness.
If we were enjoying high tea . . .
I’d tell you that I am making a real effort to get in a little more strength training. Those downhill races require strong legs, and I also have my longest race ever coming up just a short month after this month’s half.
As so often happens in our racing calendars, I’m wondering what the heck I was thinking? But sometimes I thrive on that kind of pressure, and training for the half kind of hid the fact that I need to start running what are — to me — a lot of miles.
If we were enjoying high tea . . .
I’d tell you I’m happy the downhill repeats are over and done with. Now I just have to struggle to make sure I keep up with the aforementioned strength training so my legs are strong!
If we were enjoying high tea . . .
I’d tell you that my resting heart rate has been higher this year than it was last year. Not a lot, maybe 4-5 beats. While I struggled with a long (although not serious) virus in the winter, I’ve been feeling much more like myself finally in this training cycle. Training is going well and I feel as though I’ve recovered well from my workouts.
It was interesting to me that my RHR was much lower Tuesday morning, the day after I went swimming for the first time in many months. Coincidence? I have no idea. Stay tuned.
If we were enjoying high tea . . .
I’d tell you we left Bandit with a pet sitter we’ve used for Lola in the past when we went to see Andy Grammer. It was only one night. We’d already done a meet and greet, but this was a test to see if she wanted to take him for our trip to Idaho which will be long (and includes a side trip to see my MIL).
We had told her not to pick him up. We can do it, but he’s not super fond of it and that’s when he nipped Mr. Judy way back when they first met. As we were leaving she just bent down and hauled him up (so he wouldn’t run out the door) and he snarled at her, but was okay. She said she picked him up later in the day and he was fine. So that’s where he’s staying when we go.
As I told her, I wouldn’t have brought him if I thought he would be a problem, but he’s still a sensitive dog who doesn’t always adjust well. It definitely makes things easier to take both dogs to one person!
Tea? Iced Tea? Coffee? Decaf? Green smoothie?
Any funny furkid stories recently?
Any funny stories at all — I could use a good laugh!?
Does heat cause you to eat less? Stress, too?
Today I am also joining up with the Friday Five 2.0 from Fairytales & Fitness and Rachel @ Running on Happy. I’m pretty sure this won’t be readable in five minutes so I apologize in advance!
Chocolaterunsjudy 
Cute pic with you and your fur babies. That’s awesome that Gizmo is 17.
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It would be a lot more awesome if he were still healthy. I’ve been down this road before, it’s a lot of work. 😦
He’s been with us half our marriage, though, and I do love him to pieces. I can’t imagine my life without him — or a cat!
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Yay for feeling better. I do think strength training helps a lot with my over all shape and health.Not sure if I am eating more or less but I am eating more fruit. It’s so good right now
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I know strength training makes a HUGE difference in how you appear.
When it’s super hot, I really do lose my appetite. I struggled to eat enough this week — which is so not me.
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❤ ❤ ❤ ❤
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Thanks Natalie — it wasn’t at all a shock, but still not what I wanted to hear. 😦
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Little Gizmo! He sounds like such a trooper. I’m thankful he’s eating, drinking, and purring. I’m sure you will continue to take great care of him and make sure he’s happy. 🙂
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“Little”. Haha. He’s 12 lbs! And his brother, when healthy, was 14. The mother wasn’t big but the father (and they have no idea who that might have been) must’ve been a bruiser.
One of the first signs is often weight loss — not with Gizmo! We have been through this with previous cats — it’s never fun, but I suspect he’s much like my first cat, diagnosed at roughly the same age — she was a lot of work in the end, but she did live to 21. I’m not counting on Gizmo to live *that* long, but he’s not dying today & that’s what you have to remind yourself of.
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Oh I’m sorry about Gizmo!!!
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Thanks, Pat. It wasn’t happy news, but it was expected & the main thing is right now he’s doing ok. Just more work.
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Awwe poor Gizmo 😦 Sorry to hear about his health issues but it seems like he’s doing well and still eating and drinking which is good!
That’s awesome that you will incorporate more strength training into your training. I feel like my strength training helps to keep injuries away (knock on wood)!
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That fact that he’s still eating (it’s just harder to get him to finish) is a very good sign.
I’ve always strength trained. I’ve just made more of an effort to do longer ST sessions — it’s hard to make the time, though!
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We live in denial with our cats. We only take them to the vet when they appear sick.
So far so good even with the 13 and 20 year old. The older one eats a lot and purrs all the time. I think he is deaf but then again he is old.
They have had a good long life and eventually it will end. Then we will be petless. I do not plan to replace them.
A funny story…I think our gray cat Billy who disappeared a year ago may be living around the corner. Both the hubby & I have seen a cat that looks like him. He seemed fat and happy. He was never a friendly cat so I guess he now has a new home.
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That is funny about Billy!
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When my parents were down last month, they took Hudson to see my vet since he’d been throwing up a lot, and wasn’t eating as much in one go. He’s got hyperthyroidism, and once he got on the pills, he’s a whole new cat! He is going to my vet again next week for a cleaning, and possible incisor extraction.
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Oddly enough, I’ve never had a hyperthyroid cat, although it’s common in elderly cats. Well, not so far. Pilling Giz would probably be a worse nightmare than giving him fluids!
Glad to hear Hudson is doing well on his meds. Many cats do!
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Aww, I totally can relate to being concerned about pet sitters. I have a 16 yrs old wheaten terrier and when we went on our 8-day vacation, he stayed with a sitter at her house because he does not like the boarding kennel anymore. Thankfully, he loved it and did not want to come home (which is good– means he liked her). lol. And I definitely can relate to the stress of senior pet’s health. Jack has a clean bill of health thank goodness, but we have been trying hard to get him to gain weight. He has lost muscle mass, and while he eats like a champ, he doesn’t gain weight, so we started him on a supplement that is basically a calorie-bomb. We will see how it works.
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Lola is also perennially skinny, but very healthy (other than her recent bout with Lyme disease).
Bandit is a long story, the short story is he was a senior rescue we adopted 2 years ago, and he had many issues. He’s come a long way — we used to have to take the dogs to 2 different pet sitters!
16 years is a great age for a wheaten terrier! You’ve obviously taken great care of him.
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Crazy Cocoa has become the family guard. If anyone comes to our house that is not familiar to her, she barks this crazy alarm bark. Poor Marcia was the last victim. What’s really weird is that after a visit or 2, she’s their best friend. I don’t know how she remembers, but she does.
I sure hope whatever is stressing you out resolves itself soon!
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That is weird that Cocoa learns who’s “ok” (poor Marcia!). But I get it — Lola tends to be reactive towards other dogs on walks, although she has gotten better as she’s gotten older.
But she came to include one of our neighbors & his black lab into our “pack” and would pull to see them every time we ran into them. Sadly Nala passed away (at a very good age for a lab), and their new dog — also a senior rescue — is not friendly towards other dogs. Lola still wants to go see our neighbor, though!
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My “old lady” cat will be 19 in September. She went through some kidney issues, but with getting her to eat more wet food, she has gotten those numbers out of control. Now it’s Thyroid issues, but that is fine with daily medicine. She gets whatever food she wants so that she can stay her weight. Got to love the old kitties!
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Yeah, it was really kind of surprising that Gizmo gained weight!
I had a previous cat with kidney failure that lived to 21, but she was definitely a lot of work towards the end. Gizmo is a lot like her in many ways.
I hope your cat continues to have more good days than bad!
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I’m currently catsitting my boyfriend’s family cat who is around 17 too and has kidney issues as well. He’s on high blood pressure meds but is still eating and drinking and doing okay! He actually is an orange tabby just like your cat 🙂
http://www.breathedeeplyandsmile.com
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That’s great that you’re able to catsit for them (and that you can pill him — I’m impressed!).
It’s not my first time with a cat in kidney failure, unfortunately, that’s how I knew what it was even before we went to the vet.
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I can definitely relate to the pet sitter thing! I hate leaving our two dogs behind because I have yet to find the “ideal” pet sitter. Our dogs are so spoiled and are used to a certain routine. But I just tell myself that it’s only for a few days – they will survive!
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We had a really good pet sitter for the dogs, or so we thought, until she once canceled on us 2 weeks before our trip when I reminded her of it — she no longer felt comfortable taking care of our dog, who was in heart failure.
I could understand that, but she should have given us more warning! I ended up having to stay home.
The biggest problem is most people burn out on pet sitting very quickly. I know I wouldn’t want to do it, but it’s hard when sometimes you really do have to travel to visit family — it’s not just for fun!
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Aww, Gizmo. ❤ My cats are around 8 and 12 years old and I'm really hoping they'll live forever. 😥
I need to get more consistent with my strength training!
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Unfortunately, they never live forever. 🙂 8 & 12 are still relatively young, though! My youngest furkid is 10!
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Well, if you want funny fur kid stories….Max thinks he’s the chief guardian to his Momma. Whenever the hubby says “I gotta go” (meaning he’s gonna leave for work), Max takes on his high-alert stance and/or starts growling because he knows the hubby is gonna swoop down and kiss me. He never tries to attack the hubby, but he definitely guards me!
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Bandit really guarded me when we first got him, and even though he still is the guard dog, he has settled down & relaxed, thank goodness!
Isn’t funny how they choose “their” person?
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Glad the dog sitter will work out – that’s important! I hope your kitty continues to hang in there. LOL on the melon, I guess he know who shares? 😉 Thanks for joining us for coffee
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Gizmo is pretty much a one woman cat. He’s scared of strangers & doesn’t have a lot of use for my husband unless my husband is feeding him — or I’ve been away a while. Every once in a while, if I’ve been away a few days, he’ll deign to lay on Mr. Judy’s lap.
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I’m sorry to hear your last few weeks have been stressful. Sending you good vibes.
I understand how hard it is when your cat has failing kidneys. I’m glad Gizmo is keeping himself hydrated and eating. It’s good that you know what is going on with him so you can watch for any changes. It’s cute that he comes to you for melon (and only to you!)
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Thank you! Unfortunately for us, Giz isn’t our first cat that has had kidney failure — which is how I knew what was going on before the dx. Still not what you want to hear, of course. 😦
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Pet health issues really stress me out! Our oldest kitty is 13, we got her the year after we were married. I don’t know what we would do if our dog sitter ever moved… one of our dogs is “special needs” and she is really a godsend to us.
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Dog sitters do have a way of burning out. We’ve been through many. 😦
Gizmo has been with us half our married life! It’s not easy to watch them age. 😦
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