I'm finally getting around to introducing myself and my kids. Suzie Q is my 18 year old princess. When I got her, I hadn't planned on keeping her. A co-worker kept telling me about this cat hanging around her sister's house that needed rescuing. I'd just said goodbye to my 21 year old cat and wasn't interested in seeing any new kitties (plus I had 3 others running around the place). She finally talked me into taking her and I said fine, I'll get her a full check up, all her shots, spayed and then put her up for adoption. For vet records, she was called The Princess, as that was how we referred to our co-worker. Two months later my mom said, thought you were gonna find her a good home? My response: what is this, a slum? And being from the Bronx, she kept those 3 'city' boys in line.
She recently had a stroke and doesn't want anyone to see her as she is right now so that's a pre-stroke photo. One vet put her on steroids and after the second dose there was a major turnaround. She's off the steroids but is now on meds for hyperthyroidism, even though her T4s aren't much over 4.0, the high range of normal. It was the drastic change in the T4s which necessitated the meds (they were 2.5 in 2014, 2.9 when she saw the vet the first time after the stroke, but a month later she was at 4.2, a huge increase. So we're keeping a close eye on the old gal.
Then there's Simon. He's about 13 1/2 and he and Suze have never been real friendly. At this point, sometimes they're very nice towards each other and other times they fight. Trying to keep the fighting to a minimum especially given Suze's condition. Simon is finally, after 10 years, warming up to me too. He was never a lap cat and probably never will be. He'll tolerate being on my lap occasionally for very, very short periods of time. He's also a nipper. He walked up to a friend the other day and nipped her on the back of her hand and she wasn't doing anything. Usually it's just me he nips--I've been nipped on the calf a lot when sitting at my PC. He gained much too much weight and I've had him on a diet of sorts. He lost 4 pounds the first year. It's been a year since he's been weighed, but I can finally feel his ribs! He's a little overdue for his annual checkup but I had to delay due to cash flow issues with Suzie Q. Simon is a very, very handsome fellow. And he's the only cat I've ever changed the name from his original. Donny stayed Donny, and Maxwell stayed Maxwell, but Kelly became Simon. He just wasn't a Kelly and I know he agrees with me.
So that's Suzie Q and Simon, too! Nice to be here.
She recently had a stroke and doesn't want anyone to see her as she is right now so that's a pre-stroke photo. One vet put her on steroids and after the second dose there was a major turnaround. She's off the steroids but is now on meds for hyperthyroidism, even though her T4s aren't much over 4.0, the high range of normal. It was the drastic change in the T4s which necessitated the meds (they were 2.5 in 2014, 2.9 when she saw the vet the first time after the stroke, but a month later she was at 4.2, a huge increase. So we're keeping a close eye on the old gal.
Then there's Simon. He's about 13 1/2 and he and Suze have never been real friendly. At this point, sometimes they're very nice towards each other and other times they fight. Trying to keep the fighting to a minimum especially given Suze's condition. Simon is finally, after 10 years, warming up to me too. He was never a lap cat and probably never will be. He'll tolerate being on my lap occasionally for very, very short periods of time. He's also a nipper. He walked up to a friend the other day and nipped her on the back of her hand and she wasn't doing anything. Usually it's just me he nips--I've been nipped on the calf a lot when sitting at my PC. He gained much too much weight and I've had him on a diet of sorts. He lost 4 pounds the first year. It's been a year since he's been weighed, but I can finally feel his ribs! He's a little overdue for his annual checkup but I had to delay due to cash flow issues with Suzie Q. Simon is a very, very handsome fellow. And he's the only cat I've ever changed the name from his original. Donny stayed Donny, and Maxwell stayed Maxwell, but Kelly became Simon. He just wasn't a Kelly and I know he agrees with me.
So that's Suzie Q and Simon, too! Nice to be here.
