Holly's health report
 

Holly seems to be doing very well. She is now eating well, and she seems
happy. She follows me around like "the old Holly," and she spends a lot of
time curled up in my lap. I think I made the right decision not to force
her to have fluids twice a day. I would rather have her happy and content
for whatever time we have left than to force her to have a procedure that
traumatizes her. I realize that administering fluids is really a routine
procedure, but she was so stressed out about it (even when the vet tech did
it) that she had started to cringe whenever I picked her up to start the
process. Now she is back to her old self, and I want to keep it that way.
I wish I had been able to give her the fluids, but even the vet tech found
that she had to force her. The vet tech would scruff her when she
struggled, but it clearly wasn't something that Holly would simply adjust to
and accept calmly, and I was unable to control her as well as the vet tech
could. I am adding some powdered medicine to her canned cat food, and she
is eating that very well. So, I hope she continues to improve on this
regimen and that I will have for a lot longer. But, most important, I want
her remaining time to be happy and contented time. I think there is an
element of selfishness when we force our beloved cats to endure procedures
that they find objectionable just so we can force them to be with us longer.
It's always a difficult decision, and I found it particularly difficult
because administering fluids is not one of those procedures that we would
usually look at a traumatic--but Holly obviously saw it that way. She will
be 18 years old on June 1.

MaryL

Holly's health report
 

On 2/8/2013 5:56 PM, MaryL wrote:
Holly seems to be doing very well. She is now eating well, and she
seems happy. She follows me around like "the old Holly," and she spends
a lot of time curled up in my lap. I think I made the right decision
not to force her to have fluids twice a day. I would rather have her
happy and content for whatever time we have left than to force her to
have a procedure that traumatizes her. I realize that administering
fluids is really a routine procedure, but she was so stressed out about
it (even when the vet tech did it) that she had started to cringe
whenever I picked her up to start the process. Now she is back to her
old self, and I want to keep it that way. I wish I had been able to give
her the fluids, but even the vet tech found that she had to force her.
The vet tech would scruff her when she struggled, but it clearly wasn't
something that Holly would simply adjust to and accept calmly, and I was
unable to control her as well as the vet tech could. I am adding some
powdered medicine to her canned cat food, and she is eating that very
well. So, I hope she continues to improve on this regimen and that I
will have for a lot longer. But, most important, I want her remaining
time to be happy and contented time. I think there is an element of
selfishness when we force our beloved cats to endure procedures that
they find objectionable just so we can force them to be with us longer.
It's always a difficult decision, and I found it particularly difficult
because administering fluids is not one of those procedures that we
would usually look at a traumatic--but Holly obviously saw it that way.
She will be 18 years old on June 1.

MaryL

Very good news. I know it's been stressful for both of you. FWIW I
think you made the right decision not to put her through that every day.
Purrs continue for both of you. Hugs to Duffy, too :)

Jill

Holly's health report
 

"jmcquown" wrote in message ...

On 2/8/2013 5:56 PM, MaryL wrote:
Holly seems to be doing very well. She is now eating well, and she
seems happy. She follows me around like "the old Holly," and she spends
a lot of time curled up in my lap. I think I made the right decision
not to force her to have fluids twice a day. snip

MaryL

Very good news. I know it's been stressful for both of you. FWIW I
think you made the right decision not to put her through that every day.
Purrs continue for both of you. Hugs to Duffy, too :)

Jill

~~~~~~~~~~
Thanks! I appreciate that.

MaryL

Holly's health report
 

"MaryL" wrote in message
...
Holly seems to be doing very well. She is now eating well, and she seems
happy. She follows me around like "the old Holly," and she spends a lot
of time curled up in my lap. I think I made the right decision not to
force her to have fluids twice a day. I would rather have her happy and
content for whatever time we have left than to force her to have a
procedure that traumatizes her. I realize that administering fluids is
really a routine procedure, but she was so stressed out about it (even
when the vet tech did it) that she had started to cringe whenever I picked
her up to start the process. Now she is back to her old self, and I want
to keep it that way. I wish I had been able to give her the fluids, but
even the vet tech found that she had to force her. The vet tech would
scruff her when she struggled, but it clearly wasn't something that Holly
would simply adjust to and accept calmly, and I was unable to control her
as well as the vet tech could. I am adding some powdered medicine to her
canned cat food, and she is eating that very well. So, I hope she
continues to improve on this regimen and that I will have for a lot
longer. But, most important, I want her remaining time to be happy and
contented time. I think there is an element of selfishness when we force
our beloved cats to endure procedures that they find objectionable just so
we can force them to be with us longer. It's always a difficult decision,
and I found it particularly difficult because administering fluids is not
one of those procedures that we would usually look at a traumatic--but
Holly obviously saw it that way. She will be 18 years old on June 1.

MaryL

Obviously, you've thought it out thoroughly and made a reasoned decision. I
completely agree. Sometimes the best way to make a decision about what to
do with an ailing pet, especially an elderly one, is to ask ourselves what
we would want if we were in that position. I vote for quality over
quantity.

Joy

Holly's health report
 

On Fri, 08 Feb 2013 16:56:09 -0600, MaryL wrote:

Holly seems to be doing very well. She is now eating well, and she seems
happy. She follows me around like "the old Holly," and she spends a lot of
time curled up in my lap. I think I made the right decision not to force
her to have fluids twice a day. I would rather have her happy and content
for whatever time we have left than to force her to have a procedure that
traumatizes her. I realize that administering fluids is really a routine
procedure, but she was so stressed out about it (even when the vet tech did
it) that she had started to cringe whenever I picked her up to start the
process. Now she is back to her old self, and I want to keep it that way.
I wish I had been able to give her the fluids, but even the vet tech found
that she had to force her. The vet tech would scruff her when she
struggled, but it clearly wasn't something that Holly would simply adjust to
and accept calmly, and I was unable to control her as well as the vet tech
could. I am adding some powdered medicine to her canned cat food, and she
is eating that very well. So, I hope she continues to improve on this
regimen and that I will have for a lot longer. But, most important, I want
her remaining time to be happy and contented time. I think there is an
element of selfishness when we force our beloved cats to endure procedures
that they find objectionable just so we can force them to be with us longer.
It's always a difficult decision, and I found it particularly difficult
because administering fluids is not one of those procedures that we would
usually look at a traumatic--but Holly obviously saw it that way. She will
be 18 years old on June 1.

MaryL

TuTu and I send our best purrs and good wishes and want you to know\we agree with you 100%.MLB(wishing
this could also be done for people.

Holly's health report
 

"mlbriggs" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 08 Feb 2013 16:56:09 -0600, MaryL wrote:

Holly seems to be doing very well. She is now eating well, and she seems
happy. She follows me around like "the old Holly," and she spends a lot
of
time curled up in my lap. I think I made the right decision not to force
her to have fluids twice a day. I would rather have her happy and
content
for whatever time we have left than to force her to have a procedure that
traumatizes her. I realize that administering fluids is really a routine
procedure, but she was so stressed out about it (even when the vet tech
did
it) that she had started to cringe whenever I picked her up to start the
process. Now she is back to her old self, and I want to keep it that
way.
I wish I had been able to give her the fluids, but even the vet tech
found
that she had to force her. The vet tech would scruff her when she
struggled, but it clearly wasn't something that Holly would simply adjust
to
and accept calmly, and I was unable to control her as well as the vet
tech
could. I am adding some powdered medicine to her canned cat food, and
she
is eating that very well. So, I hope she continues to improve on this
regimen and that I will have for a lot longer. But, most important, I
want
her remaining time to be happy and contented time. I think there is an
element of selfishness when we force our beloved cats to endure
procedures
that they find objectionable just so we can force them to be with us
longer.
It's always a difficult decision, and I found it particularly difficult
because administering fluids is not one of those procedures that we would
usually look at a traumatic--but Holly obviously saw it that way. She
will
be 18 years old on June 1.

MaryL

TuTu and I send our best purrs and good wishes and want you to know\we
agree with you 100%.MLB(wishing
this could also be done for people.

Amen to that!

Joy

Holly's health report
 

On 2/8/2013 5:56 PM, MaryL wrote:
Holly seems to be doing very well. She is now eating well, and she
seems happy. She follows me around like "the old Holly," and she spends
a lot of time curled up in my lap. I think I made the right decision
not to force her to have fluids twice a day. I would rather have her
happy and content for whatever time we have left than to force her to
have a procedure that traumatizes her. I realize that administering
fluids is really a routine procedure, but she was so stressed out about
it (even when the vet tech did it) that she had started to cringe
whenever I picked her up to start the process. Now she is back to her
old self, and I want to keep it that way. I wish I had been able to give
her the fluids, but even the vet tech found that she had to force her.
The vet tech would scruff her when she struggled, but it clearly wasn't
something that Holly would simply adjust to and accept calmly, and I was
unable to control her as well as the vet tech could. I am adding some
powdered medicine to her canned cat food, and she is eating that very
well. So, I hope she continues to improve on this regimen and that I
will have for a lot longer. But, most important, I want her remaining
time to be happy and contented time. I think there is an element of
selfishness when we force our beloved cats to endure procedures that
they find objectionable just so we can force them to be with us longer.
It's always a difficult decision, and I found it particularly difficult
because administering fluids is not one of those procedures that we
would usually look at a traumatic--but Holly obviously saw it that way.
She will be 18 years old on June 1.

MaryL

Glad to read this Mary! I totally agree with you. Shamrock used to get
allergy shots but it got to where he would run from me when it was time,
and I found they had stopped helping after a while anyway, so I quit
giving them to him and just continue with the depo shots as needed.
Good news is that he just went 6 months between shots and while he was
clearly itchy, he wasn't tearing off his fur and skin as bad as he has
in the past. I'm thinking that the change to hardwood floors and
leather furniture has helped somewhat, even if I do still have some
carpet, and of course a bed that attracts his allergens. The main
living area is what has been modified to eliminate dust and dustmites.

I hope she has many happy stress free years more with you, as many as
God* allows.

*your interpretation of God of course. :)

Holly's health report
 

"MaryL" wrote in message
...
Holly seems to be doing very well. She is now eating well, and she seems
happy. She follows me around like "the old Holly," and she spends a lot
of time curled up in my lap. I think I made the right decision not to
force her to have fluids twice a day. I would rather have her happy and
content for whatever time we have left than to force her to have a
procedure that traumatizes her. I realize that administering fluids is
really a routine procedure, but she was so stressed out about it (even
when the vet tech did it) that she had started to cringe whenever I picked
her up to start the process. Now she is back to her old self, and I want
to keep it that way. I wish I had been able to give her the fluids, but
even the vet tech found that she had to force her. The vet tech would
scruff her when she struggled, but it clearly wasn't something that Holly
would simply adjust to and accept calmly, and I was unable to control her
as well as the vet tech could. I am adding some powdered medicine to her
canned cat food, and she is eating that very well. So, I hope she
continues to improve on this regimen and that I will have for a lot
longer. But, most important, I want her remaining time to be happy and
contented time. I think there is an element of selfishness when we force
our beloved cats to endure procedures that they find objectionable just so
we can force them to be with us longer. It's always a difficult decision,
and I found it particularly difficult because administering fluids is not
one of those procedures that we would usually look at a traumatic--but
Holly obviously saw it that way. She will be 18 years old on June 1.

It is not possible to do that here, this is a thing that only vets can do.

Holly's health report
 

"Christina Websell" wrote in message
...


"MaryL" wrote in message
...
Holly seems to be doing very well. She is now eating well, and she seems
happy. She follows me around like "the old Holly," and she spends a lot
of time curled up in my lap. I think I made the right decision not to
force her to have fluids twice a day. I would rather have her happy and
content for whatever time we have left than to force her to have a
procedure that traumatizes her. I realize that administering fluids is
really a routine procedure, but she was so stressed out about it (even
when the vet tech did it) that she had started to cringe whenever I picked
her up to start the process. Now she is back to her old self, and I want
to keep it that way. I wish I had been able to give her the fluids, but
even the vet tech found that she had to force her. The vet tech would
scruff her when she struggled, but it clearly wasn't something that Holly
would simply adjust to and accept calmly, and I was unable to control her
as well as the vet tech could. I am adding some powdered medicine to her
canned cat food, and she is eating that very well. So, I hope she
continues to improve on this regimen and that I will have for a lot
longer. But, most important, I want her remaining time to be happy and
contented time. I think there is an element of selfishness when we force
our beloved cats to endure procedures that they find objectionable just so
we can force them to be with us longer. It's always a difficult decision,
and I found it particularly difficult because administering fluids is not
one of those procedures that we would usually look at a traumatic--but
Holly obviously saw it that way. She will be 18 years old on June 1.

It is not possible to do that here, this is a thing that only vets can do.

~~~~~~~~~~
It is fairly common here for people ("non professionals") to perform
procedures such as administer fluids and give insulin shots for diabetes.
If it had worked, I would have been doing it under instruction by the vet
and vet tech, but I decided that it just is not fair to Holly to force her
to accept the procedure twice a day for the rest of her life. Many people
have been successful at doing it in their homes, but I was not.

MaryL

Holly's health report
 

"MaryL" wrote in message
...


"Christina Websell" wrote in message
...


"MaryL" wrote in message
...
Holly seems to be doing very well. She is now eating well, and she seems
happy. She follows me around like "the old Holly," and she spends a lot
of time curled up in my lap. I think I made the right decision not to
force her to have fluids twice a day. I would rather have her happy and
content for whatever time we have left than to force her to have a
procedure that traumatizes her. I realize that administering fluids is
really a routine procedure, but she was so stressed out about it (even
when the vet tech did it) that she had started to cringe whenever I
picked her up to start the process. Now she is back to her old self, and
I want to keep it that way. I wish I had been able to give her the
fluids, but even the vet tech found that she had to force her. The vet
tech would scruff her when she struggled, but it clearly wasn't something
that Holly would simply adjust to and accept calmly, and I was unable to
control her as well as the vet tech could. I am adding some powdered
medicine to her canned cat food, and she is eating that very well. So, I
hope she continues to improve on this regimen and that I will have for a
lot longer. But, most important, I want her remaining time to be happy
and contented time. I think there is an element of selfishness when we
force our beloved cats to endure procedures that they find objectionable
just so we can force them to be with us longer. It's always a difficult
decision, and I found it particularly difficult because administering
fluids is not one of those procedures that we would usually look at a
traumatic--but Holly obviously saw it that way. She will be 18 years old
on June 1.

It is not possible to do that here, this is a thing that only vets can do.

~~~~~~~~~~
It is fairly common here for people ("non professionals") to perform
procedures such as administer fluids and give insulin shots for diabetes.
If it had worked, I would have been doing it under instruction by the vet
and vet tech, but I decided that it just is not fair to Holly to force her
to accept the procedure twice a day for the rest of her life. Many people
have been successful at doing it in their homes, but I was not.

MaryL

I can fully understand that. I was lucky. When Skeeter needed fluid, it
was only twice a week, and, as long as I sat in a comfortable recliner with
her in my lap, I had no trouble administering it. However, my daughter and
her husband had to give fluids to one of their cats, and it took both of
them to do it.

Joy