Hello From Washington State! With Pictures!

cooper38

TCS Member
Thread starter
Young Cat
Joined
Mar 1, 2008
Messages
48
Purraise
0
Location
Bellingham, WA
Hello everyone,

I'm from Bellingham, WA and have two neutered male cats. They are brothers from the same litter, and in fact were the only 2 kittens in the litter! Needless to say they have a very unique bond. I adopted them from some folks out in a rural area, so they're no fancy breed, but in my opinion they are very beautiful and quality felines. Their pictures are at the bottom of this post. They're now approaching middle age at 6 years old.

The main reason I joined this forums is because I was led here searching for information on how to better my care for my somewhat ailing cat Cooper. His brother's name is Sampson btw. The issue is that Cooper is very obese and I know it's partly because of genetics, but also because I feed him junk. He weighed in at a tad over 37lbs at the clinic 3 months ago! I know lots of people exaggerate or talk their pets up, but everyone has my word that's an official weight. I am not proud of it though.

Recently he's started to show signs that his obesity is starting to effect him. I just realized yesterday that he's as blind as a bat! I think it may be sudden blindness due to high blood pressure aka hypertension. I'm really worried about this and am wondering if it can be reversed. I have been noticing something wrong with him for about 2 weeks and didn't pinpoint it until last night. If I would have been more educated I could have diagnosed it earlier! That's why I'm going nuts trying to get as much info as I can. What I've deduced is that the commercial garbage I free feed him is killing him. This causes me distress. I love both of my boys, and am seriously prepared to do whatever I can to assure they're comfortable, long, and happy lives. I really enjoy their company and if Cooper died young his brother and I would be extremely devastated.

Anyway, I have a lot to learn and a lot more to say haha. I'll cut this short as giant blocks of text aren't any fun for anybody lol. I'm happy to be here and will be thoroughly researching everything feline related. The site is set-up great and I look forward to contributing what I can. Thank-you.

Pictures of the Notorious 2:
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #2

cooper38

TCS Member
Thread starter
Young Cat
Joined
Mar 1, 2008
Messages
48
Purraise
0
Location
Bellingham, WA
One more thing. I figure it's important you guys see what his eyes look like now so you can see the difference. His pupils are fully dialated and barely respond to light. I mean the flash was 5" away from his face and his pupils didn't even contract.

He's set-up for an appointment on Monday, but if it's an SOS I'll go to the emergency room with him. He's totally happy though and is getting around ok. Except for a few urinating issues on the floor and some increased vocalizing he's alright. He's not his same old self though and I'm pretty worried about him right now. I live alone and him and his brother are really important to me and keep me from getting too lonely.

If he has to die young I won't hold it against him, but if there's any possibility he can live longer, lose 10lbs, and regain some of his vision I'll absolutely do whatever it takes. I know that diet is important, so that's the 1st concern I'll be looking to address after we get his blindness figured out. Thanks in advance for any help on this issue. I'll be trying to answer my own questions too.

I'm sure this is more than you all want to know, but here it is for those of you with some spare time.

Pics of his eyes taken 5 minutes ago:
 

tara g

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Jul 16, 2007
Messages
5,678
Purraise
96
Location
On the farm
Welcome to TCS! Your cats are beautiful, even if there's added weight. I hope that everything will work out and they can live long happy lives.
 

xocats

TCS Member
Veteran
Joined
Mar 26, 2005
Messages
20,608
Purraise
16
Welcome to TheCatSite....
You kitties are adorable.

I think that you would receive more useful feedback about Cooper if you start a thread about his health issues here...
http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=4

If it were me, if the dilation of his eyes was sudden, I would get Cooper to an emergency right away.
If not, be sure to keep us updated about what your vet says tomorrow.
Cooper
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #7

cooper38

TCS Member
Thread starter
Young Cat
Joined
Mar 1, 2008
Messages
48
Purraise
0
Location
Bellingham, WA
Thanks for the warm welcome folks. Thank-you for XOCATS for the vibes and advice about Cooper too. I'm behind him 100% and hope he makes a complete recovery. No more open buffet!
Luckily I just returned home from a Government welding job, so I can now afford the best care and drugs money can buy for him haha.

I'll go ahead and do an abbreviated question in the area you specified in the hope for more feedback related to his eyes. I've spent a bit of time searching around already and have pretty much narrowed down what it could be. This is where I wish I could communicate directly with him so he could tell me exactly what was going on. It must be very hard to be a vet and have to guess all the time. Anyway, I think I've found a very good site with like minded people and look forward to my stay. I'm very happy to be here. Take care everyone.
 

xocats

TCS Member
Veteran
Joined
Mar 26, 2005
Messages
20,608
Purraise
16
Be sure to keep us updated...
Make yourself at home here.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #9

cooper38

TCS Member
Thread starter
Young Cat
Joined
Mar 1, 2008
Messages
48
Purraise
0
Location
Bellingham, WA
Thank you again! Well I posted the problem in the health/nutrition area, but it's not as abbreviated as I wanted haha. I guess I just can't write a small amount when I'm this worried. I will check back in after he's gone to the vet and had numerous tests performed. I truly hope that his blindness is able to be reversed, but even if it's permanent I'll strive to make his quality of life as downright excellent as possible.

I have lots of time off now, so will remain by his side 24hrs a day until I'm satisfied his life isn't at risk. I've even set up a temporary bed on the floor so I can be next to him even when I sleep. I feel a little bit weird about being so attached to my cat because I'm usually pretty guarded with my heart, but he is so important to me I can't help it. I'm just glad to find a place where everyone else is also totally infatuated with their pets.
 

xocats

TCS Member
Veteran
Joined
Mar 26, 2005
Messages
20,608
Purraise
16
You have come to the right place...
we really do understand how you feel about your cats.
 

kalikat

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Feb 25, 2007
Messages
2,057
Purraise
1
Location
Sydney N.S.W
Hello & welcome to tcs. You've come to the right place. I hope everything goes ok at the vets, let us know asap what the vet says.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #12

cooper38

TCS Member
Thread starter
Young Cat
Joined
Mar 1, 2008
Messages
48
Purraise
0
Location
Bellingham, WA
Good to hear! Yeah lots of people think it odd that someone care so deeply for "just a cat" but they're fiercely loyal and intelligent and at least IMO have basic feelings such as mad, sad, glad etc, and aren't the purely instinctual creatures some folks assume. I think it's very easy to see why they were revered as Godlike in ancient cultures, and even some today. I'm definitely a cat person for life!

People who can't understand the love I have for my boys are truly missing out themselves on what could be perhaps the most rewarding relationship of their lives. I've been through both romantic and friendly relationships with humans, and I can say without hesitation that I've gained the most from what I have with my felines. I think they too are aware of how attached I am to them haha. They definitely use it to their advantage; the crafty blokes
 

pet a cat

TCS Member
Kitten
Joined
Feb 29, 2008
Messages
11
Purraise
0
Location
Bremerton
Hello neighbor!

Your cats are awesome!I thought my Damone was huge @ 15 lbs!

I wish your cat the best though!
 

mrblanche

TCS Member
Veteran
Joined
Jan 28, 2008
Messages
12,578
Purraise
119
Location
Texas
We have had some large cats. In fact, your cat closely resembles Wickett the Concrete Block Cat. Size, weight, shape, color, and intelligence of a concrete block.

A vet will have to tell you what to feed the fellow, but if you can get that weight down to half what he weighs now, he should be as good as new...except for the blindness, if it doesn't reverse. He may possibly be diabetic.

I see by the time that you should be at the vet's in a few minutes. Good luck to both of you!
 

katz4life

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Jul 24, 2007
Messages
3,667
Purraise
2
Hello & Welcome to the Cat Site!


Your cats are very cute! Hope to see more photos of them


Best Wishes! Enjoy the forums
 

persi & alley

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Jul 27, 2006
Messages
6,313
Purraise
15
Location
Farmers Branch, Texas
Hello, and welcome to the best cat site around!


We have a lot of support and advice to give here. We also have a game specially designed for newcomers like yourself called KatKwiz, which teaches you things about The Cat Site and also allows you to win lots (thousands) of points. Just click on the here link below to learn more. Glad you decided to join us!
 

flisssweetpea

TCS Member
Veteran
Joined
Dec 5, 2004
Messages
8,885
Purraise
4
Location
At the kitty's beck and call
Hi there
we're so happy to get the chance to welcome you and your boys to TCS. I'm sure you'll enjoy your stay with us - we're one great big family and you'll find loads of friends here. If I can help at all while you're finding your way around TCS just click on my username and send me a Personal Message - I'll do what I can to answer your questions


Good luck with getting your boy's weight down. I hope that the news from the Vet is good and that he is not permanently blind
 

coolcat

TCS Member
Veteran
Joined
Mar 30, 2004
Messages
36,938
Purraise
69
Location
The "Dark Side of the Moon"
Hola y bienvenido a TCS, ...Catulina
y Milky
te saludan!!!
........

(Translate: Hi and Welcome to TCS, Catulina and Milky say hello to you!!!...
)

See you on the forums!
 

crazyforinfo

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
May 26, 2006
Messages
6,773
Purraise
4
Location
Philly
Now that is a huge kitty! I wish you the best of luck with a diet. You are not alone with caring deeply for your cat.
 
Top