Howling in Geriatric Cat

I haven’t, actually. My own cats have been easy to pill and when I was a tech we used something called a pill popper for difficult cats. I’ve heard good things about them, though.
I highly recommend them. I was so skeptical when the doctor recommended supplements for our poor cat with chylothorax. He was in bad shape as it was, and I was already medicating him twice a day. I didn't want to handle him even more to get pills down him. It was a gift from the heavens to find out how much he liked the pill pockets. I could lay the wrapped pill on my flat palm and he would voluntarily take it right off my hand.
 
I haven’t, actually. My own cats have been easy to pill and when I was a tech we used something called a pill popper for difficult cats. I’ve heard good things about them, though.
I actually meant to quote @lovin'fl with my response on that. I thought she might find the pill pockets helpful for her dog.
 
I actually meant to quote @lovin'fl with my response on that. I thought she might find the pill pockets helpful for her dog.
Yes. They work but he would be getting 3 a day and those are pricey for a bag that wouldn't last long. I can slice up hot dogs and keep a baggie of them in fridge. That works. Don't have hot dogs right now though so I have been using cream cheese.
 
So almost a month later I have an update.

I asked our regular vet to try the Adequan shots. We went twice a week for 4 weeks. I think her howling went down a bit but she was definitely still howling. Then on top of that she stopped eating her dry food a week or two ago. That was my "go" sign with the teeth. We called the other vet back (since our regular vet did not want to do surgery on a 19 year old cat) and we had it done yesterday. They pulled 3 teeth and cleaned up the others. They took great care of her and she came through the procedure with flying colors. She spent the night happily sleeping on our adult son, who had come into town for the procedure.

We also had an updated full blood panel done, and it was mostly good, with her kidney numbers slightly reduced from before but still elevated, and also an elevated calcium level. They say that can be secondary to her kidney disease or an indication of some sort of cancer, but in a 19 year old cat, we won't likely be doing a workup on that.

Anyway, I'm really glad we went ahead with the teeth. Regardless of whether that stops the howling (I figure it will be a few days before we know for sure) she needed to have it done. Thanks for all the chat and encouragement, especially @TipsyTraveler.
 




I was just thinking about her the other day, wondering how it was going. Glad to hear she’s doing well! Hopefully the things you’re doing will bring her some comfort. And, now I see she’s a calico — they’re my favorite! ❤️
 
She’s beautiful :lovestruc thanks for sharing her pic!
Thanks Pea! It's amazing how many photos we have of her through the years. Not posed, but just showing up in the background in various family shots through the years. She's just always been there.
What a cutie
Thank you Belle!
I was just thinking about her the other day, wondering how it was going. Glad to hear she’s doing well! Hopefully the things you’re doing will bring her some comfort. And, now I see she’s a calico — they’re my favorite! ❤
Thank you! She's the only calico we've ever had and I'm obviously a big fan. She's always been a fiesty one, but much more settled and very loving the older she got.
She's so pretty! I hope that all helps her feel better.
Thanks Brian. I do think she feels a lot better.
 
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Tortie is just a subset of Calico - the tude is inherited. Interestingly they are like 99% female but I read an article recently about a male tortie being born. Apparently they are like .03%. He's a cutie too:

https://www.wgrz.com/article/news/l...itten/71-f9dc1e63-c9f5-4e85-bfe5-be8122d237ae
My daughter and I did some reading on calicos/torties just recently and were discussing how there's a rare male birth every now and then. This story is so timely. I'll definitely show her. What a cutie!
 
Love these cats! I/my parents had a calico when I was younger and this is one of my two current babies:

View attachment 506147
What a cutie! Such great coloring.
My tortie Silvian. She has no tail due to an injury when she was a kitten (before I got her). I recently learned from an x-ray that she has a titanium plate in her hip. The Humane Society really went to great lengths for her.

View attachment 506153
So pretty. Love her coloring. That's awesome what the Humane Society did for her. Warms my heart.
 
They took great care of her and she came through the procedure with flying colors. She spent the night happily sleeping on our adult son, who had come into town for the procedure.
@TipsyTraveler.
Can I just say how touching and wonderful it is to see that your son loves your cat so much to come home for a procedure? Thats just too sweet (says the person who flew home, then took a bus for 2 hours, Just to attend a eldery cats doctors appointment)
 

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