yesterday was my snick's 15th birthday. snick, jaspurr, and i enjoyed a nice quiet day together. so with this on my mind, for today's Question of the Day.........
Let's talk about senior and/or special needs cats/kittens!
Do you have (or have you had) a senior cat in your life? How about a special needs cat or kitten? (can be any kind of special needs -- physical, mental, or emotional)
If so, what are some of the things you like/love most about them?
If not, would you ever consider adopting one?
Are there any special things you do for your senior or special needs cat/kitten?
What have you learned from loving and caring for a senior or special needs cat/kitten?
Do you have any pic(s) of your senior/special needs furbaby(-ies) that you'd like to post here?
i've had two cats who have been special needs, and became senior cats. our mickey (rip) developed IBD just before he turned 9 years old, then developed diabetes (not the type which could be treated through diet) when he was 12 years old. snick, who is mickey's litter mate sister, also developed IBD just before turning 9 years old, has had idiopathic hypercalcemia (which corrected itself as mysteriously as it started), and is currently in stage 2 chronic kidney disease.
i do consider our jaspurr a special needs cat. jaspurr has just turned 3 years old and is in very good physical health. jaspurr's special needs have to do with his very sensitive and gentle purrsonality and his past experiences with other cats. jaspurr came to us (snick and me) as our foster, because in his foster home he was being chased and attacked mostly by one other male cat to the point that he was living in one bedroom -- of course set up nicely for a cat, and time was spent in with him every day. but jaspurr loves people and spending time with them cuddling and snuggling, and his foster people knew he wasn't happy. i was told that jaspurr will need a younger and female cat(s) to share his home with, when our snick's time has come to cross the rainbow bridge. i think he may do well, after a slow and careful integration, with another senior girl though -- if she has the right purrsonality. so i'll make sure to carefully choose the female cat companions for jaspurr in the future.
some things i love about senior cats -- to me, cats seem to age 'gracefully'. maybe more so than us humans, because cats seem to just adjust to any limitations brought on by aging. my snick still enjoys doing everything she did when much younger, just is able to do them for shorter periods of time. she still plays with her toys and has her favorite ones, and still occasionally 'zooms' and loves scratching her sisal posts. snick is not able to jump as high, or have the strength to do so, as she once was able to. so i have a series of step stools of various heights that are set up for snick, which she uses every day. i also have added smaller 'stepper' shelves in amongst the cat wall furniture we have, specifically for snick. snick prefers that i stay nearby, that she pretty much always knows where i am. i believe it's simply comforting for her to know that i'm nearby, so i'm glad to make sure that i do so. snick also gets sub-q fluids every other day, and is now on at home/hospice care (under the supervision of our vet).
i would consider adopting a special needs cat or kitten, in the future. i think this could work out well for jaspurr.
through loving and caring for my senior and special needs cats, i've learned patience, understanding, and that the depth of my love for them has only grown as time has continued to march on.
this is a pic of our mickey --
and this is my snick, who is also mickey's litter mate sister --
and this is our jaspurr --
okay, now it's your turn!
Let's talk about senior and/or special needs cats/kittens!
Do you have (or have you had) a senior cat in your life? How about a special needs cat or kitten? (can be any kind of special needs -- physical, mental, or emotional)
If so, what are some of the things you like/love most about them?
If not, would you ever consider adopting one?
Are there any special things you do for your senior or special needs cat/kitten?
What have you learned from loving and caring for a senior or special needs cat/kitten?
Do you have any pic(s) of your senior/special needs furbaby(-ies) that you'd like to post here?
i've had two cats who have been special needs, and became senior cats. our mickey (rip) developed IBD just before he turned 9 years old, then developed diabetes (not the type which could be treated through diet) when he was 12 years old. snick, who is mickey's litter mate sister, also developed IBD just before turning 9 years old, has had idiopathic hypercalcemia (which corrected itself as mysteriously as it started), and is currently in stage 2 chronic kidney disease.
i do consider our jaspurr a special needs cat. jaspurr has just turned 3 years old and is in very good physical health. jaspurr's special needs have to do with his very sensitive and gentle purrsonality and his past experiences with other cats. jaspurr came to us (snick and me) as our foster, because in his foster home he was being chased and attacked mostly by one other male cat to the point that he was living in one bedroom -- of course set up nicely for a cat, and time was spent in with him every day. but jaspurr loves people and spending time with them cuddling and snuggling, and his foster people knew he wasn't happy. i was told that jaspurr will need a younger and female cat(s) to share his home with, when our snick's time has come to cross the rainbow bridge. i think he may do well, after a slow and careful integration, with another senior girl though -- if she has the right purrsonality. so i'll make sure to carefully choose the female cat companions for jaspurr in the future.
some things i love about senior cats -- to me, cats seem to age 'gracefully'. maybe more so than us humans, because cats seem to just adjust to any limitations brought on by aging. my snick still enjoys doing everything she did when much younger, just is able to do them for shorter periods of time. she still plays with her toys and has her favorite ones, and still occasionally 'zooms' and loves scratching her sisal posts. snick is not able to jump as high, or have the strength to do so, as she once was able to. so i have a series of step stools of various heights that are set up for snick, which she uses every day. i also have added smaller 'stepper' shelves in amongst the cat wall furniture we have, specifically for snick. snick prefers that i stay nearby, that she pretty much always knows where i am. i believe it's simply comforting for her to know that i'm nearby, so i'm glad to make sure that i do so. snick also gets sub-q fluids every other day, and is now on at home/hospice care (under the supervision of our vet).
i would consider adopting a special needs cat or kitten, in the future. i think this could work out well for jaspurr.
through loving and caring for my senior and special needs cats, i've learned patience, understanding, and that the depth of my love for them has only grown as time has continued to march on.
this is a pic of our mickey --
and this is my snick, who is also mickey's litter mate sister --
and this is our jaspurr --
okay, now it's your turn!