Tama's Thankful Thursday

 

Tama-Chan: It's me again, Dear Friends. #1 thought I should tell you about my vet visit on Tuesday, so here I am. She had been meaning to take me for a while but it didn't happen for a variety of reasons, and then I started having some, ahem, accidents, and she thought she needed to bite the bullet. She starved me, put me in the carrier, and off we went to Dr. C on Monday morning.

Dr. C started by weighing me. I am 4.5 kilos (10lb). This is 500 grammes less than last time I was there, almost four years ago, but Dr. C said it was a good weight for me. She then did all the usual palpating. My heart was beating fast (duh...) but no signs of a murmur or arrhythmia. The most obvious thing was a deterioration in muscle tone in my hind legs. Dr. C said that there were three possible causes. One was diabetes, another was thyroid issues, and the third was the old age/arthritis combo.

The next thing was to draw blood. I was so good whilst she did it. Did not even blink!

We got the results yesterday afternoon. No diabetes (although figures at the high end of the normal range) and no thyroid issues. And what is more, my kidneys, liver, and pancreas are quite simply perfect! How about that? Anything that was slightly elevated was, according to Dr. C, as a result of the regular prednisone I take for my allergies. All in all, a pretty excellent result!!!

Dr. C concluded that my "issues" were probably due to a combination of anxiety and arthritis. The anxiety is likely to be exacerbated by #1's absences, the rambunctiousness of the three boys, and my own arthritis. So... she has put me on a two month course of Zylkene. Do you know Zylkene? It's pretty good stuff and we hope it will help me relax more. For the arthritis, she prescribed Seraquin, which is a combination of Glucosamine, Chondroitin and Turmeric, saying that she had never come across a cat who disliked it. Well.... I do. I have refused to touch anything tainted with the ground-up powder. Next, #1 is going to try ground-up Hyalurol to see if it is more palatable to me. Could I ask any of you with any experience in arthritis in older cats to give us a shout and tell us what might have worked for you? We are aware of NSAIDs and Solensia, but would like to go with a softer touch for as long as possible. 

So, overall, much to be thankful for. For a mature queen who will be 16 in a few months, I am in pretty good shape. #1 says she truly empathises on the arthritis front and will do do whatever she can to give me back a little more mobility.