Litterbox Training a Senior Cat

Bless you for taking him in. You are an angel! What are you feeding George?
Some high quality food will definitely help reverse some of the aging. A vet
could also tell you his approximate age.
You will need to give George a pill in his food for worming. I don't believe
that Revolution can kill tapeworms. Please keep us posted on this old boy.
How about an attached outside enclosure?
"Marek Williams" wrote in message
...
On Thu, 02 Oct 2003 19:28:43 GMT, "Agua Girl"
dijo:

George is a handsome old beast, but his eyes don't look very healthy.
As a feral cat, he probably has eaten rodents and has worms. It's
possible that he could also have feline aids or leukemia. Poor George
probably isn't up to a vet visit--so ask a local vet if he/she can make
a house call. He really needs to be seen and treated.

Heh heh. I thought he could use a good brushing then I
recalled the poster saying he was just now allowing
petting so I suppose George is as handsome and healthy
as George wants to be :-) . Some times you have to accept
you have done all you can to this point.
Good for you Marek for making room in your life for
this old tom. (hey, that sounds like a premise for a TV show...
"This Old Tom")

There is a new vet only a few blocks away (new practice). She's the
one who sold me the Revolution. Next time I get a chance I'll stop in
and ask her what she'd charge to stop by. Problem is ensuring that
George is handy when she arrives. He's an independent old boy.

As for his appearance, you should have seen him when I started a
couple months ago. His eyes are clear most of the time now, and the
horribly matted hair on the rear of his back (over an inch above the
rest of his hair) is now gone and the underlying hair is evening out
and looking pretty good. He still has matted hair on his sides,
especially in the back, but it doesn't seem to bother him. The matted
hair is not a sign of disease. As you noted, George is as handsome as
he wants to be. He doesn't wash himself much, but that is by habit,
not because he can't. I do see him washing himself a little sometimes.

As for worms and other stuff, according to the vet the Revolution will
take care of that. Unfortunately, I still haven't figured out how to
get into the tube. I called Pfizer and they were pretty useless. I'm
just going to take a knife to the tube.

For those who think there is something evil about me because I don't
instantly haul him off to the vet, well, I don't take myself to a
doctor for every little thing either, and I'm even older than George,
relatively speaking. He is still improving on his own, so I think most
of what is wrong with him is due to horrible nutrition and age. And if
he has something serious, well, there are no other cats here and none
of the neighbor cats go near him. From reports in the neighborhood
he's been around for at least eight years, probably longer. For a
stray, that is pretty old. I doubt that a vet could do anything for
him, but I will see if the new lady vet will stop by.

In the meantime, the major issue is litterbox training. I'll call
around and see where I can get some Cat Attract and try that next. I
bet it has no impact on the problem, but I'll give it a shot. He's
like a child still in diapers -- doesn't have a clue about what a
toilet is for, and wouldn't be interested if he did. I think what will
eventually work is catching him in the act so I can apply the hand of
knowledge to the furry seat of learning, right at the precise moment.

--
Bogus e-mail address, but I read this newsgroup regularly, so reply here.

On Sat, 04 Oct 2003 08:28:09 GMT, "onebyone"
dijo:

Bless you for taking him in. You are an angel! What are you feeding George?
Some high quality food will definitely help reverse some of the aging. A vet
could also tell you his approximate age.

I've been feeding him Friskies canned from the store, but only the
ones marked "special diet" or "senior." I'm discovering some funny
things about him. Yesterday I spent half of the day in the kitchen
because I was preparing and freezing the last of this year's tomato
crop. George hung around expectantly the whole time. He knows exactly
what happens in a kitchen, and was hoping for a handout. All the time
he had plenty of food in his dish within sight. He has a lifetime
habit of begging for handouts, so he can't stop even though he has
plenty in his dish. Once I dropped a tomato on the floor. I've never
seen him move so fast. He zoomed right over, expecting it to be some
prime morsel. And such a disgusted look on his face after he finished
sniffing it.

As for the vet estimating his age, I suppose she could, at least
better than I can. But you know, George doesn't seem to care how old
he is. Isn't that great? Wouldn't it be wonderful if we humans never
paid attention to our age?

You will need to give George a pill in his food for worming. I don't believe
that Revolution can kill tapeworms. Please keep us posted on this old boy.
How about an attached outside enclosure?

From the info sheet that came with the Revolution:

"Revolution kills adult fleas and prevents flea eggs from hatching for
one month and is indicated for the prevention and control of flea
infestations (ctenocephalides felis), prevention of heartworm disease
caused by dirofilaria immitis, and the treatment and control of ear
mite (otodectes cynotis) infestations. Revolution is also indicated
for the treatment and control of roundworm (toxocara cati) and
intestinal hookworm (ancylostoma tubaeforme) infections in cats."

So you're right. Tapeworm not on the list. But aren't tapeworms pretty
visible? I've seen a lot of his poop (!) and it looks totally normal.
Also, if you have a tapeworm, don't you have to eat a lot? (He eats a
normal amount for his size.) Not that a treatment is a bad idea, I'm
just thinking that tapeworms are probably unlikely.

As for an outside enclosure, that is possible. In fact, it would be
easy, because it already exists. The garage is attached to the right
side of the house, and has a door into the kitchen. Behind the garage
is an attached greenhouse. The greenhouse stays about 10°C above the
normal outside temperature, and it never freezes. Last winter I had a
tomato plant that wintered over out there. He could live in the garage
and greenhouse.

But I kind of enjoy having him indoors with me, at least in the
evening. And he likes to be near me too. And he would be much more
comfortable in the coming winter. So I guess I need to keep after the
litterbox training. I'm going to get some of the Cat Attract as soon
as I figure where to buy it.

--
Bogus e-mail address, but I read this newsgroup regularly, so reply here.

On Sat, 04 Oct 2003 08:28:09 GMT, "onebyone"
dijo:

Bless you for taking him in. You are an angel! What are you feeding George?
Some high quality food will definitely help reverse some of the aging. A vet
could also tell you his approximate age.

I've been feeding him Friskies canned from the store, but only the
ones marked "special diet" or "senior." I'm discovering some funny
things about him. Yesterday I spent half of the day in the kitchen
because I was preparing and freezing the last of this year's tomato
crop. George hung around expectantly the whole time. He knows exactly
what happens in a kitchen, and was hoping for a handout. All the time
he had plenty of food in his dish within sight. He has a lifetime
habit of begging for handouts, so he can't stop even though he has
plenty in his dish. Once I dropped a tomato on the floor. I've never
seen him move so fast. He zoomed right over, expecting it to be some
prime morsel. And such a disgusted look on his face after he finished
sniffing it.

As for the vet estimating his age, I suppose she could, at least
better than I can. But you know, George doesn't seem to care how old
he is. Isn't that great? Wouldn't it be wonderful if we humans never
paid attention to our age?

You will need to give George a pill in his food for worming. I don't believe
that Revolution can kill tapeworms. Please keep us posted on this old boy.
How about an attached outside enclosure?

From the info sheet that came with the Revolution:

"Revolution kills adult fleas and prevents flea eggs from hatching for
one month and is indicated for the prevention and control of flea
infestations (ctenocephalides felis), prevention of heartworm disease
caused by dirofilaria immitis, and the treatment and control of ear
mite (otodectes cynotis) infestations. Revolution is also indicated
for the treatment and control of roundworm (toxocara cati) and
intestinal hookworm (ancylostoma tubaeforme) infections in cats."

So you're right. Tapeworm not on the list. But aren't tapeworms pretty
visible? I've seen a lot of his poop (!) and it looks totally normal.
Also, if you have a tapeworm, don't you have to eat a lot? (He eats a
normal amount for his size.) Not that a treatment is a bad idea, I'm
just thinking that tapeworms are probably unlikely.

As for an outside enclosure, that is possible. In fact, it would be
easy, because it already exists. The garage is attached to the right
side of the house, and has a door into the kitchen. Behind the garage
is an attached greenhouse. The greenhouse stays about 10°C above the
normal outside temperature, and it never freezes. Last winter I had a
tomato plant that wintered over out there. He could live in the garage
and greenhouse.

But I kind of enjoy having him indoors with me, at least in the
evening. And he likes to be near me too. And he would be much more
comfortable in the coming winter. So I guess I need to keep after the
litterbox training. I'm going to get some of the Cat Attract as soon
as I figure where to buy it.

--
Bogus e-mail address, but I read this newsgroup regularly, so reply here.