Last year, Mister Jake was having trouble breathing. I took him to the vet. He has asthma, probably some nasal polyps, and maybe some growths in his chest. Also, Jake has massively high blood pressure.
I got this news while things weren’t going well with Scrubby, and I’m like — what should we do? I’m totally ill-equipped to make any decisions except drink heavily.
Vet was like — He’s fifteen. I wouldn’t do invasive tests. Treat him for his symptoms, keep an eye on him, and you’ll know when it’s time. Maybe six months. Maybe a year.
So we went home with steroids and blood pressure medication. Later on, I started giving him Vitamin B12 shots because that’s super easy and cheap.
Fourteen months later, he’s now 16 and still alive. The prednisolone makes him aggressive for attention, but I’ll take a needy cat who’s alive versus a chill cat who’s dead.
But look at this insane medication calendar — with white out! We overlay our life on this thing like it’s 1999.
We’ve tried switching to an online calendar, but as many of you have discovered with your own families, you can’t remember life events and tasks unless you write them down and tick them off upon completion.
I don’t know how you manage your family schedule, but in ours, we write things down. And when we tick them off, it feels like a mini-celebration. Jake is alive! He made it another day!
That cat is a champ. His parents are okay, too.
Yay Jake! It’s always nice when non-invasive treatment leads to more comfortable life for kitty and more cuddles for you.
Keep up the good work, Mister Jake! Your family needs you.
So glad Jake’s doing okay. I’m also a fan of going a non-invasive route whenever possible to deal with issues (both my furry four-legged child and my non-feline two-legged one who likes to pretend she’s a cat.)
We’ve tried different online calendars and always come back to a big calendar on the wall in the kitchen.
Yay, Jake! Brown tabbies rule 4eva <3