Quick Cat Update
Before I get to the feline details, I am ecstatic to report good news about my very own superhero Spouseman. He's checked off one full year since surgery, and got a thumbs-up on the first checkup test since the radiation regimen. So we're moving into the "Dealing With All the Side Issues " phase of recovery after cancer treatment. Building up stamina, testing new physical limits, designing new workouts in the Danger Room...okay, I might be making up that last bit. Or not.Let's talk about the cat.Our grumpy old fur-baby Scootercat has been struggling with "idiopathic digestive issues" for nearly a year. That's a fancy way of saying "the poor cat's insides are wearing out." It translates to ten months of watching the cat vomit up food, hair, and/o bloody phlegm on a daily basis--sometimes three or more times a day.We still don't know what caused the upset or what made it last so long, but we do know he didn't have any bacterial infections, urinary crystals, tumors, esophageal strictures, or bowel obstructions. He just horked up whatever he ingested and then some.Ruling out horrible conditions was all well and good, but knowledge didn't keep food inside the cat or clean up the disastrous results of rejection. And anyone who says animals don't understand cause and effect has never watched a sick pet contemplate his food dish with equal parts desperation and disgust. Poor Scooter started grumbling at his food while he ate, as if warning it to stay down this time.I am relieved to report Le Petit Chat Noir is finally feeling better. He still has arthritis and gets anxious when he can't find us because he's too deaf to hear us moving and too blind to see us across the room, but he's eating like a high school athlete and is back to yakking at birds from window sills and chasing his nemesis the iPad reflection along the walls.What miracle cure did the trick? No idea. Various remedies were applied as suggested by Reliable Veterinary Experts. After multiple unsuccessful attempts we landed on a boring sensitive-stomach food Scooter could keep down, then added tuna flakes to encourage extra feeding.Indulging the little monster's love of being scrubbed with a wire brush after meals seems to help too. I think it distracts him long enough for the food to get from his stomach into his short little carnivore's gut.In any case, here be more photos of our happy, elderly feline. [gallery ids="37666,37544,37542,37543,37545,37546" type="rectangular"]
Not tired of my words yet? My published works are available on Amazon and all the other usual online retailers. Handy link: https://books2read.com/ap/xqvlwR/K-M-Herkes