The Lynnster Zone

Living with an elderly cat in decline has certainly become a challenge lately. Of course, there’s also the fact that I have two more elderly cats who are doing okay for now, but Schuyler, my black cat, is presenting all kinds of new challenges lately.

I previously mentioned the recent loss of normal toilet habits. That’s gotten better in some ways. We now have this routine where I think he may be about to go, so about forty times a day, I pick him up and we go to the litter box, and about three or four of those times, we’ll have success. The rest of the time he just jumps out because no, he doesn’t need to go.

Or then we’ll have an episode like we did a few minutes ago, where we made it to the litter box and had a successful pee, and then a very short time he later he started acting like he needed to go again. So off we went again, and immediately he jumped out of the box. And then about five minutes later had an accident in the living room.

I would think he’s getting senile, but he’s apparently mostly with it. In fact, most times that I’m either not paying attention or asleep and he can’t make it to the litter box in time (honestly, I don’t know whether he’s even trying to anymore), he’s picked a ceramic bowl that used to hold keys and whatnot and really hasn’t been in use in some time to go in. Which is fine. Bowls can be washed, and that’s way better than a lot of places he could be going. And he’s going there every time, so I can’t complain too much about that.

Otherwise, he really seems to be doing okay and has even put on just a little bit of weight, which is not much considering he’s so pitifully thin and he was always such a big, stocky, strapping boy. He still purrs constantly, and he still keeps busy cleaning everyone else as well as himself (I’ve always called him my “hairdresser cat”). He’s eating better and keeping it down and other things have improved.

So really, we’re doing okay, but the forty or fifty times a day trips to the litter box is about to wear me out. I’m not going to complain much though; obviously we’ve been blessed with more time than I thought we had a few weeks ago.

And speaking of elderly cats with issues, Little has improved to the point of being on the verge of getting fat again (longtime friends and family will remember she used to look like a little basketball years ago). And the very strange sweet and lovable and clingy disposition that developed after her stroke-like episode (with the vestibular disease) a month and half ago – well, that’s all gone. She’s back to her normal crabby self and hissing at everyone in her path all the time.

With all that’s gone on this year with Rocky and Lulu’s illnesses and then deaths, Dobie and Little’s episodes with the vestibular disease, and now Schuyler and his particular challenges, I don’t know what I would have done if I was not working at home these days. We wouldn’t have been able to manage all this at all.

I’m also happy to report we are finally totally flea-free (or at least almost), no thanks to Frontline Plus. I keep reading where people are concerned that the company changed the formula because so many people are having such bad luck with it now and not killing fleas as it once did, and then there’s always the possibility, I guess, that the fleas are just becoming immune to it, but it no longer works here, I can tell you that; and, I believe Frontline Top Spot works better – or at least it seemed to last I used it. We have been using all that stuff since it first started coming out, from Program to Advantage to Frontline and then Frontline Plus, and then I was able to get by for a few years with some over-the-counter stuff and only on the dogs before the dogs next door moved in. Our experience with Frontline Plus this year was a nightmare, whereas going back to Advantage a month later, we had peace within a week, if even that long. Between that and the original Dawn dish liquid flea traps (still working, I’m going to keep one down 365 days a year now whether I see a flea or not), we’ve had super success. Pooh on Frontline Plus.

And Tojo the psycho kitty’s been out here for about twenty minutes now without causing any chaos or making anybody mad. He’s getting better. Sometimes.