Composure for cats
Shannon and I have three cats (and a fourth who is still with us in pictures).
Chloe & Mosby -- the brindle (or is it brindled?) torts. Mosby (left) is four, and is crazy. Chloe (right) is fourteen, and she's old, fat, and lazy. Mosby gets in these moods during the day where she hisses and screams at Chloe, but then five minutes later, they look like this photo. We can't figure her out. More on this later. Chloe is sweet, calm, and pretty much what you would expect an old cat to be like.
Roux -- the tabby. Roux is thirteen, and in this recent photo you can tell that her left eye is not quite open all the way. She's our medical mystery. The skin around her eye is very swollen. We're taking her to a veterinary opthalmologist on Tuesday. We've got our fingers crossed that he can give us some more information. Our local vet (who is fantastic) has been able to at least keep her eye stable, but has run out of ideas for actually getting her cured (if that is even possible). She's happy, eating well, and playful, so it's not affecting her mood, but I'm sure she would like to be able to close that eye again some day.
Arizona -- the Grey Ghost. Arizona passed away two days before Mosby entered our lives. In fact, Mosby's name is a tribute to Arizona. I always called her "The Grey Ghost", because of the way she would silently enter a room. One minute, no cats, the next, she was there, and you had no idea where she came from. Arizona lived with us during our time in Virginia, and that was when we learned more Civil War history at social events than we had during our K-12 and undergraduate education. I learned that John Singleton Mosby, aka the Gray Ghost, was a Colonel in the Confederate Army, hence in tribute to our Grey Ghost,I named Mosby Mosby Shannon suggested we name Mosby Mosby, and I agreed.
Anyway, the reason for this post is that at this time all of our cats are being medicated. If you have ever had to pill a cat or otherwise medicate a cat, you should realize what a joy it is to have to medicate 3 cats. Chloe is back on medication for her liver -- routine bloodwork found a raised liver enzyme, and our vet suggested we re-check it at her annual visit, and found it was elevated again. Chloe may be on a maintenance drug the rest of her days. Thankfully, the vet thinks there may be many more for Chloe, as the medication should keep this in check. Roux is on a steroid pill twice daily, since her swollen eye seems to respond to that, and we have to put ointment in her eye 2-3 times daily. Since she can't close her eye, without the ointment her eye is likely to ulcerate. Imagine her joy getting 2 pills and goop in her eye every day.
Finally, we come to Mosby. She hisses at Chloe one minute, snuggles up to her in bed the next. She chews on wood. She chews on plastic grocery bags. She has hissed after a vaccination as she felt the serum being absorbed. For the most part, she is a great cat who is really fond of people and attention, she's just a little wacky. Well, our new vet (did I mention how good this guy is?) told us that he is really recommending to all his clients with cats and dogs that are a bit wacky a liquid vitamin supplement called Composure. Apparently research shows that the vitamin Thiamin reduces stress in animals. This sounds a little strange, but I think it is working. She still takes a swing at Roux or Chloe every once in a while, and we have seen her chew on a bag once and a TV tray another time, but I really think her craziness has subsided without any sedative or personality change otherwise. It seems strange to be giving a cat vitamins for her nerves, but I'm sure Chloe appreciates her quieter life.
Chloe & Mosby -- the brindle (or is it brindled?) torts. Mosby (left) is four, and is crazy. Chloe (right) is fourteen, and she's old, fat, and lazy. Mosby gets in these moods during the day where she hisses and screams at Chloe, but then five minutes later, they look like this photo. We can't figure her out. More on this later. Chloe is sweet, calm, and pretty much what you would expect an old cat to be like.
Roux -- the tabby. Roux is thirteen, and in this recent photo you can tell that her left eye is not quite open all the way. She's our medical mystery. The skin around her eye is very swollen. We're taking her to a veterinary opthalmologist on Tuesday. We've got our fingers crossed that he can give us some more information. Our local vet (who is fantastic) has been able to at least keep her eye stable, but has run out of ideas for actually getting her cured (if that is even possible). She's happy, eating well, and playful, so it's not affecting her mood, but I'm sure she would like to be able to close that eye again some day.
Arizona -- the Grey Ghost. Arizona passed away two days before Mosby entered our lives. In fact, Mosby's name is a tribute to Arizona. I always called her "The Grey Ghost", because of the way she would silently enter a room. One minute, no cats, the next, she was there, and you had no idea where she came from. Arizona lived with us during our time in Virginia, and that was when we learned more Civil War history at social events than we had during our K-12 and undergraduate education. I learned that John Singleton Mosby, aka the Gray Ghost, was a Colonel in the Confederate Army, hence in tribute to our Grey Ghost,
Anyway, the reason for this post is that at this time all of our cats are being medicated. If you have ever had to pill a cat or otherwise medicate a cat, you should realize what a joy it is to have to medicate 3 cats. Chloe is back on medication for her liver -- routine bloodwork found a raised liver enzyme, and our vet suggested we re-check it at her annual visit, and found it was elevated again. Chloe may be on a maintenance drug the rest of her days. Thankfully, the vet thinks there may be many more for Chloe, as the medication should keep this in check. Roux is on a steroid pill twice daily, since her swollen eye seems to respond to that, and we have to put ointment in her eye 2-3 times daily. Since she can't close her eye, without the ointment her eye is likely to ulcerate. Imagine her joy getting 2 pills and goop in her eye every day.
Finally, we come to Mosby. She hisses at Chloe one minute, snuggles up to her in bed the next. She chews on wood. She chews on plastic grocery bags. She has hissed after a vaccination as she felt the serum being absorbed. For the most part, she is a great cat who is really fond of people and attention, she's just a little wacky. Well, our new vet (did I mention how good this guy is?) told us that he is really recommending to all his clients with cats and dogs that are a bit wacky a liquid vitamin supplement called Composure. Apparently research shows that the vitamin Thiamin reduces stress in animals. This sounds a little strange, but I think it is working. She still takes a swing at Roux or Chloe every once in a while, and we have seen her chew on a bag once and a TV tray another time, but I really think her craziness has subsided without any sedative or personality change otherwise. It seems strange to be giving a cat vitamins for her nerves, but I'm sure Chloe appreciates her quieter life.
posted by Chris at 11:57 PM
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