okay, so this week I'm staying at my parents' house. The cat there, Casha, is now 18 years old and not in the best shape....well, actually, she's in pretty good shape considering her age. She still gets around, eats and drinks and uses the litterbox normally, if a little slower than a young cat. Let me outline a few things for you....
Last christmas, we were pretty sure that she was going to pass, because she suddenly stopped eating, drinking, using the litterbox, etc. The vet thought it was the first signs of renal failure. After a scary 3 days, she started eating again (boiled chicken, her fav) and began recovering. Shortly after, we found a bald spot and healing wound. It seems the groomer must have clipped her and she caught something. She lost a bunch of weight because of the illness, but she was overweight anyway, so she's not too bad off.
Now, she can't really groom herself, because she's not able to twist to reach her back and such like she used to be. Which means she needs a bath. My parents are not BAD pet owners....they don't abuse the cats, they're always fed and watered on time and they get attention. But they are not good owners either, because the extra steps that I believe come with the responsibility of owning a cat, such as helping Casha with hygiene, just aren't on my mum's list of priorities. My mum buys low quality food, like fancy feast, because canned food of any decent quality is too expensive (and she wonders why the poor thing's coat is so greasy) She's also cheap and beyond yearly revaccination, they don't get much vet care. So, whenever I'm here, I go buy better food, bathe Casha and do general grooming stuff.
Okay, today I went to do all this and found that her claws haven't been trimmed in god knows how long. One actually is against the pad (hasn't pierced skin yet, but is flush with the pad). So, I'm waiting for my mom to be off the phone to hit her up for the cash to get a vet visit, cuz I'm not messing with that and risking infection.....might also ask for a run of antibiotics too, if the skin ends up broken in the course of cutting.
Meanwhile, I am livid that Casha's care has been neglected to this point. But I have a problem.....I could talk to my parents about it until I'm blue in the face, but I've been trying for years and they're just not going to change. Now, I could take her home with me, but there are huge problems with that:
a)she's lived in this house with my parents for 15 years or more, and I don't know that she'd deal with a change of address well at all.
b)I'm dealing with some issues in my relationship with my boyfriend, which is rocky right now, and can't say with any certainty that I'll continue living where I currently am.
c) We have, right now, 2 cats who are two yrs old, one dog who is 3 (he a hound, which means he chases occasionally, but actually really likes the cats.....I'm not too worried about the chasing exactly, cuz he won't chase if the cat doesn't run and Casha can't move too quickly anymore) and 2 kittens (confined to a bedroom until we get rid of the roundworm) who may or may not be staying with us. It's not that I think any of them would hurt her, but the cats are too active and the kittens would be WAY too active. The dog is a cat-lover, but she's never lived with a dog and if he bothers her, she can't jump up to get away from him.
I just think that, while I could provide better care, the environment would be really stressful. I could keep her in the bedroom with the door shut, but that means that Sam and Lola have nowhere that is their territory. They'd have to stay in the living room with Max, which is fine when we're home and supervising, but not so cool afterwards. Once the kittens are integrated, it might be better cuz one of the bedrooms would be available, but still.....
Sorry that I'm so long-winded. If anyone actually managed to get this far, PLEASE tell me what you think I should do!
Last christmas, we were pretty sure that she was going to pass, because she suddenly stopped eating, drinking, using the litterbox, etc. The vet thought it was the first signs of renal failure. After a scary 3 days, she started eating again (boiled chicken, her fav) and began recovering. Shortly after, we found a bald spot and healing wound. It seems the groomer must have clipped her and she caught something. She lost a bunch of weight because of the illness, but she was overweight anyway, so she's not too bad off.
Now, she can't really groom herself, because she's not able to twist to reach her back and such like she used to be. Which means she needs a bath. My parents are not BAD pet owners....they don't abuse the cats, they're always fed and watered on time and they get attention. But they are not good owners either, because the extra steps that I believe come with the responsibility of owning a cat, such as helping Casha with hygiene, just aren't on my mum's list of priorities. My mum buys low quality food, like fancy feast, because canned food of any decent quality is too expensive (and she wonders why the poor thing's coat is so greasy) She's also cheap and beyond yearly revaccination, they don't get much vet care. So, whenever I'm here, I go buy better food, bathe Casha and do general grooming stuff.
Okay, today I went to do all this and found that her claws haven't been trimmed in god knows how long. One actually is against the pad (hasn't pierced skin yet, but is flush with the pad). So, I'm waiting for my mom to be off the phone to hit her up for the cash to get a vet visit, cuz I'm not messing with that and risking infection.....might also ask for a run of antibiotics too, if the skin ends up broken in the course of cutting.
Meanwhile, I am livid that Casha's care has been neglected to this point. But I have a problem.....I could talk to my parents about it until I'm blue in the face, but I've been trying for years and they're just not going to change. Now, I could take her home with me, but there are huge problems with that:
a)she's lived in this house with my parents for 15 years or more, and I don't know that she'd deal with a change of address well at all.
b)I'm dealing with some issues in my relationship with my boyfriend, which is rocky right now, and can't say with any certainty that I'll continue living where I currently am.
c) We have, right now, 2 cats who are two yrs old, one dog who is 3 (he a hound, which means he chases occasionally, but actually really likes the cats.....I'm not too worried about the chasing exactly, cuz he won't chase if the cat doesn't run and Casha can't move too quickly anymore) and 2 kittens (confined to a bedroom until we get rid of the roundworm) who may or may not be staying with us. It's not that I think any of them would hurt her, but the cats are too active and the kittens would be WAY too active. The dog is a cat-lover, but she's never lived with a dog and if he bothers her, she can't jump up to get away from him.
I just think that, while I could provide better care, the environment would be really stressful. I could keep her in the bedroom with the door shut, but that means that Sam and Lola have nowhere that is their territory. They'd have to stay in the living room with Max, which is fine when we're home and supervising, but not so cool afterwards. Once the kittens are integrated, it might be better cuz one of the bedrooms would be available, but still.....
Sorry that I'm so long-winded. If anyone actually managed to get this far, PLEASE tell me what you think I should do!
