it's just a matter of when.
*WARNING: Animal bodily functions blog*
I'm talking pets today. We have a small menagerie and most of them are geriatric, but I think the first to die will probably be Blinky, our beta fish.
Blinky is relatively new to our house; I think we bought him about six months ago. He'll be the first to die since he's been laying on his side for the past week. I've lost count of how many times I've tapped the glass only to have him swim away. He'd probably thinking, 'just leave me @#$@#$ alone!', but I tap and he moves . . . and lives.
Kato kitty is our oldest pet. He's outlived hamsters, guinea pigs and rabbits. Kato is my pre-marriage cat, and almost twenty years old. Todd calls him the cat who would not die. :-) He lives a pretty good life. When we carpeted the house about two years ago, we moved him to the laundry room. 1) it's one of the warmest places in the house, 2) it's large, 3) I can feed him and keep his litter box in the same room--about five feet apart, 4) he sleeps on the dryer. Yeah, kitty heaven when I'm doing laundry--warm vibrations.
Kato pukes A LOT--even for a cat. He pukes when he drinks water, when he eats too much and then drinks water, when he's in bed, when he's using the kitty litter box--he pukes, it's what he does. If a day goes by and he doesn't puke, I'm wondering what's going on. He used to puke in our closest, until we recarpeted. Now he throws up in the tile laundry room--I Fantastic the floor and wash the extra towels and bedding I have to keep him warm.
--Speaking of which, I need to take his stuff out of the washing machine.
Some mornings I don't want to look in his little room. Today, I had to gird my loins with a stout cup of joe before I thought about cleaning up his latest mess. It wasn't totally his fault--the kidlet decided to put a bell around his neck last night and forgot to remove it. Kato decided to eat the bell. I thought he had swallowed the ribbon, but luckily not. So he puked up the bell--and to show his displeasure he decided to poop on a towel I have covering the washing machine.
*sigh* Long live the kitty that wouldn't die!
Katie is our geriatric sheep dog. I think she's turning thirteen this year. For the most part she's a good dog, though she's gotten grumpier with age. She hates having her ears plucked or her coat brushed, but suffers through it. For years she's been on thyroid meds and doing well. Two summers ago we had some issues with anal glands, subsequently removing them.
Well, about four months ago--the puking started. And it isn't hairball puke--it's disgusting!
--Yes, I have two puking geriatric pets. I thought when the kidlet got past the puking and pooping in a diaper stage, life would be smooth sailing. Uh, WRONGO!
Anyhoo, I've started feeding Katie in smaller, more frequent meals, leaving a little in her bowl--PROBLEM: the cat will eat the dog's food and then PUKE it up.
Katie's on vomiting medication and we've just increased it, but she throws up every couple of days--the toughest when we are sound asleep and we hear her starting to ralph. 1) I leap out of bed, trying to figure out where the dog is, 2) grab her by the collar to lead her to tile floor in bathroom, 3) dog uncooperative--she's trying to puke for gosh sakes!--and growly, 4) dog pukes, 5) Sheepdogs have long fur--I try to clean her mouth and try to keep her from stepping in it--dog growls, 6) dog pukes again, 7) I get the joy of cleaning up since I don't have to go to work and my dear hubster does. *sigh* Isn't the life of a stay-at-home mom just glamorous??
And our last pet, Rocky, a guinea pig. If he pukes, I don't know or care. Rocky lives in a nice sawdust-filled home. It's a large glass snake cage with a screen top. Rocky is really cute and he's my buddy. So, of course, I'm highly allergic to guinea pigs, every time I pet him, I have to scrub down.
We were looking at some old pictures the other day--getting them ready for our digital photo frames--and we found pictures of Rocky when he was a whelp, pup, or whatever baby GP's are called. Rocky is now five, almost six. Old for a guinea pig. Harry (Harriette) our last GP was seven when she died. So Rocky is a geriatric GP.
I love all my animals and it will break my heart when they die. Life keeps moving on and until they die, I'll be loving, petting . . . and cleaning up puke.
Write on!
Hate to tell you, but we had a cat that lived so long we lost count of the years, but we know Prissy was at least 25 when she finally died.
ReplyDeleteKatie is OLD for a dog her size. She must have a very good life:)
And you're right. Rocky is OLD.
For Kiddo's sake, I hope they all don't go at the same time.
I think I'll call your house...Golla Golden Age Home for Animals
I can sooo well relate. I'm the official animal bodily function cleaner. And we have gone through our share of geriatic animals. It hurts every time we lose one.
ReplyDeleteYour critters are lucky to have you. BTW: My sister just had their last cat pass away -- at 18.
When I told Todd about the longevity of indoor kitties, he nearly came unglued! :-) I think 23-27 years is the norm for them.
ReplyDeleteWhen you get animals, you never calculate when they'll die, and it just happens that all of mine are old at the same time. I know Rocky and Kato will have a spot in the backyard, but I think an eighty pound dog is too big to bury out there.
I knew you would understand, Meg. It hurts when critters die, but the joy they bring in all the years they spend in your life is what makes for happy memories.
ReplyDeleteawww, how cute!
ReplyDeleteI totally understand the puking. Our cat does it all the time. Every day we play "find the puke spot." Can't get much better than that!
Actually, when the cat did it in the closet, Lori, we always found it because my husband's size 14 feet would ALWAYS land in it! :-) Yeah, I still laugh about it . . . he was not amused.
ReplyDeleteI have never been so glad that horses can't vomit....
ReplyDeleteLOL! Ain't that the truth, Jody! :-)
ReplyDeleteMy best friends cat, Twinkie, just died last year. She was 22 years old. I loved that cat. I understand the dog dilema, my dog is going to be 13 next month. He's a good dog, but he seems to be getting whinier in his old age.
ReplyDeleteSending my best wishes for your geriatric pets. :)
I totally understand your whiny dog problems, Erika.
ReplyDeleteI failed to mention that Katie groans a lot and, at night, she's does her running dog imitation. Problem is her nails click against the wall, waking us up! Oh, well.
I think I'm glad I can visit my daughter's dogs and then come home to peace and no animal puke or crap on my crowded floor.
ReplyDeleteThere's something to be said about granddogs, Mama Mary! You get the best of both world that way.
ReplyDeleteI can soo relate to this. My dog eats everything. And I do mean everything. Then proceeds to hack it up in the floor. On carpet, because I can never catch her quick enough to drag her to the tile. I love her to death, but gosh. I hate that yuck habit of hers.
ReplyDeleteI wish I had known how long cats lived when I adopted ours. I think he's 18 and is spry as he ever was. *sighs*
I have a friend whose old tomcat lived to be 30.
ReplyDeleteWhat we do for our critters, Ash. Last night, all snug in my bed watching Chopped (Todd had gone to workout), I heard the dreaded noise. Luckily the dog was on the wood floor--growly as ever as I cleaned up her mess. Then when Todd got home, she was barking like crazy--not normal behavior. I think the dog is senile.
ReplyDeleteI don't think I'll let Todd in on that little tidbit of info, Jody. I might find that Kato has died from mysterious circumstances.
ReplyDelete