My cat George

[Amy27]

I needed to get this out. I know everyone here is a animal lover and hope maybe someone has some words of wisdom.

When I was 18 and moved out on my own I got my first animal, George. When I went to the Humane Society I spotted him and knew I had to have him. I asked the attendant if I could take him out of the cage and was informed I could not, he was too mean. I was told George, whose name was Ginger at the time and was dropped off because she had babies was blind. Though after taking Ginger to the vet, Ginger was a boy and so I called him George.

George is partially blind in both eyes because his previous owners did not treat his eye infections. Scar tissue formed over his eye balls and when you look at his eyes you just see white milky stuff.

George was really mean. I couldn't go near him for weeks after bringing him home. But out of all my animals George loves life the most. Since getting him he has been diagnosised with a lot of health problems, he has stomach issues, a heart murmur, we think he has arthritis in his hind quarters, wheezing, he has bad teethand he is allergic to everything including himself. Yep that is right, George is allergic to cat hair. I give him allergy injections twice a month.

Anyway George is awful at the vet, as he gets older it gets worse and worse. He hasn't been properly examined in years because he is so aggressive. They can't sedate him because of his heart murmur.

The vet tech who came to my house to give Chase her sub q's works for a great vet and I decided I would take both of my cats to him for their yearly, which I did today. It went awful. I have known for awhile that if George ever got sick I would have to put him down. He is to mean for treatment or testing. After today I decided I am also going to stop his vaccines. The ones he got today will last 3 years but it was awful. The vet said he has never seen an animal act like George. The vet had to hold him down just to give the vaccines. George is flipping out and I mean going crazy. He is peeing and pooping all over the vet. He is trying to bite them and it was insane. My other cat got so upset she started flipping out.When I got home and got them out of their carriers both were like foaming at the mouth. Drool was haning almost all the way down to the floor.

I got George home and put him in the bathroom because I needed to clean him up. He was covered in feces. I let him calm down and then put him in the bath tub and we went through World War 3 again. I get him out he poops all over the bathroom floor. It took me 15 minutes to get out of the bathroom as I had to stand on the toilet while George flipped out trying to attack everything. I come out and there is my other cat hissing because she was upset again.

I am so frustrated. I could help George, make him better. But he is so mean I can't do anything. I know his time with me is getting short. I hate that it doesn't have to be this way. I would love to get him the treatment he deserves.

Alot of people especially at the vets wonders if I should put George to sleep but like I said at home he loves life. It was really nice that the vet tech could tell the vet that also because when she would come over to give Chase her sub q's George would love all over her.

Has anyone ever had an animal they had to let go because they were so mean? I feel like I am failing George. Thanks to anyone who reads this. I really just needed to vent. I don't want to lose my first love, my first baby. I believe I still have a few years with him. But when I take him to the vet it is like reality sets in about how bad the situation really is.

 

[FlopsnWills]

I wouldn't put him to sleep unless there's something medically wrong with him. I don't euthanize sick animals unless they stop eating and you know they aren't enjoying life anymore. (Charlie was a different story, eating cranberries until the very end) I do have a pet rat, Ray who is the meanest rat I have ever owned, so I kind of know what you're going through. He was neutered on June 12th, so I'm desperately hoping this calms him down somewhat. I've owned 13 cats (my parents had 6 when I was born!) and none of them have been like George, but I tend to avoid the vet as much as possible. All of my mom's original 6, who were pretty much my siblings, hardly went to the vet. They didn't go outside, so they didn't need vaccines, and they only went to the vet when absolutely necessary. They all lived to be very old, the youngest one died at 16 from cancer and the oldest died at 23ish, I'm sure from old age.
Anyway, I guess what I'm trying to say is, just enjoy your time with him and avoid going to the vet as much as possible. Of course, if he's very sick and is in pain, I'm not going to tell you to avoid vet care, but for vaccines and such, I don't think he needs the stress. I strongly believe the less stress an animal has in their life, the happier and longer their lives are.
I didn't help much, just thought I'd give some support

 

[NorthernAutumn]

Ok, so these are my very disjointed thoughts (early AM here)...

I vote for tranquilizers. For the rest of his life. How much of it is a risk to his heart murmur condition? It may be worth the gamble...

I'm also wondering if there is a natural tranquilizer out there (eg. from a naturopathic vet) that will dull his fierceness without compromising the heart.

[Catnip acts like pot for some cats... how does George react to it? My family's psychotic cat (similar to George's temperment) gets paranoid, and won't touch it... my cats get blissed out. Maybe there's a stronger version?]

How old is George? You were saying this last set of shots will last for 3 years... if that's the case, then I guess I'm wondering if you can handle a ****-storm every 3 years. You are obviously managing well with the allergy shots 2x monthly.

(I guess it is very challenging to tell if he is in pain, if he acts PO'd all the time.... how does he interact with you on a daily basis?)

I think you need to find a vet that is willing to do house calls. Taking him into the vet office obviously doesn't work. His temper may be defused a bit if the next vet visit occurs at home.


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Really, you ought to pm seniorcats... Ann isn't on here very much any more, but she is the go-to girl for elderly cats.

Sorry for the ramblyness, Amy :hug:
I'll be watching this thread

 

[okiron]

If he's enjoying life at home I'd just keep him at home. Let him live life peacefully till the day he develops something you can't handle yourself. And then come to the crossroad of, is the treatment worth stressing him out over. Till then, I would just forget about vaccinations or any other small things.

 

[Numbat]

Hope all gets better with you both. I don't really have much advice but just some support. George has a different way of expressing himself but he's your baby and I'm sure he loves you. I'd say if he's enjoying life just keep him at home and enjoy your time together.

:hug2:

 

[Flashy]

I'm with the others. If he is happy and loves life at home and is not this distressed normally, then you have all the reasons there to keep him alive, keep him happy, until, like okiron says, you are faced with something you know you can't deal with.

I completely back Autumn's suggestion on a vet that does house calls, because that in itself might prove useful.

In terms of sedation, is it that a GA is out of the question, or that he can't have anything (such as valium) to calm him down and provide that mild sedation?

How has George been since this whole incident?

How have you been?

 

[nermal71]

Well my mom has one cat that they have this pheremone (spelling?) stuff that comes in like a plug in air freshener thingie. It costs them about 45 dollars a month but keeps their one cat totally mello. Without it he is so nervous that he will literally start pulling all of his hair out.

As to reaching a point where you have to put him down I have been there twice. I HATE putting an animal down unless as someone else said they are beyond help. We had one cat that even our vet said for the families sake (my kids were small at the time) had to be put down and it was horribly hard on me. But she was chewing through every wire in the house. We tried every deterent spray on the market, tried water guns, penny cans,tried the wire covers (she'd get her teeth into the base of a lamp wire that had those) and bite until she shorted it out. The vet did every test they could think of their was nothing physically wrong with her. It got to the point where she would get a shock and shake it off and run back to get another zap. It was almost as if she was enjoying it. Shelters would not take her because short of finding someone that lived in a home without any wires whatsoever she was unadoptable. (She almost started a fire on several occasions due to her wire chewing habits). After having her live in the bathroom for about a month hoping she'd forget her wire fixation and having her do it again they advised putting her to sleep and we did. Now granted this was 10 years ago and maybe things have changed.

We also had to do it with our female rottie because she was getting VERY aggressive and it was NOT a predictable thing. IT was very random and when you have a 100lb dog that is nice one minute and flying at you growling the next with no apparent reason you have to start wondering what is up. She tested fine no health issues. We later found out after she was put to sleep she had a very small brain tumor that was not showing up on tests and that was causing her issues and she probably would have died in a few months anyways.

Neither case was easy. And I don't wish the situation on anyone. If he's happy at home then I'd say leave things as they are. If it gets to a point where even at home he's having severe problems then you have to do what is best for you and your situation and not worry about the flak you may take from other people. I believe that we know what is best for our animals as we live with them day in and day out.

Good luck with your situation hon. (Oh and I have a George too) Mine is a male gray and white DSH whose full name is Curious George. But he's a scaredy cat not, not a curious one anymore. He was born under my son's bed thanks to a rescue we had at the time.

 

[Amy27]

flopsnwills thanks for sharing your story with me. I have a lot of friends that also never take their cats to the vet and they do just fine. The only problem is the vet would have to agree to it because George has to have his allergy shots.

Autumn there is a natural one I tried before. I think it was feliaway. You can plug it in like an air freshner or use the spray. On a daily basis George is usaully fine as long as I don't try to force him to do anything or like hold him down for something. I can usually distract him and cut his nails and give him his injection, just takes awhile because I have to let him go calm down and then I start over. But doing that he doesn't act as bad as he acts at the vet. When I had to put eye drops in his eyes at home though it took 3 people to hold him down. He just hates to be screwed with and forced to do something.

The vets are real cautious with his heart murmur because they can't really tell how bad it is because George goes crazy. So far no vet has been willing to sedate him because of that.

Thanks for the suggestion on PMing seniorcats. I will do that.

Flashy, They won't give him valium either. If he would calm down enough where they could really listen to it to see how bad it is they might, but so far that hasn't happened.

Once George calmed down last night where I could let him walk to the bedroom. He was fine. I feed him and he ate and was happy. I was really afraid to let him out of the bathroom for a litle bit because I was afraid he would go crazy and I know the state he was in he would have attack me, the other cat or the bunny's and I didn't want to risk that.

nermal71, I have never heard of that I will have to try it. Thanks for the suggestion. Thanks for sharing your stories. I can't imagine how hard that was to put them down.

Thanks everyone. I felt like a bad person deciding not to vaccinate George. You guys made me feel better about that.I was so emotionally drained yesterday. I think I will still have to take him to the vet once a year so I can get his allergy meds but I am going to refuse the vaccinates and any other procedure. Basically I will take him in and refuse all procedures. I think the vet would be okay with that. I will also see how expensive it is to have a vet come to the house. I don't think it will help but if it isn't to expensive I may try it to see.

 

[NorthernAutumn]

I think that having a vet come to your home would be very effective.. you've already noted that you give injections at home, and other people have assisted you in the past with eyedrops (which I can't even imagine being able to do successfully with a cat! so kudos to you!)

Phone up and see how much Any vet worth their salt will understand the situation

 

[BethM]

Have you tried Rescue Remedy? I don't know how it would be for long-term use, but maybe it would help when George needed treatments. My rescue recommends it for use with bunnies for bonding and such, I guess it helps to calm them down. I've been told to just spray some on their food. I've never used it, but am about to pick some up this weekend for bonding.

 

[werecatrising]

As a vet tech I can tell you it is not unheard of for cats to act that way. We have patients with murmurs, renal failure, etc. if there is something that really NEEDS to be done( usually blood work) we gas them down with sevo. It is a very safe anesthetic and they wake up from it extremely fast. We don't stress over vaccines too much if it is an indoor cat. if you really want your cat vaccinated maybe you can ask to take them home and give them yourself.

 

[dquesnel]

What about prozac (Fluoxetine)? I know that sounds stupid but vets actually do suggest this for animals. I have a friend who had a demented cat - animals get psychiatric disorders like we do and it sounds like George has had some sort of disorder his whole life. Anyway the cat with dementia ended up havig a relatively peaceful life after it recieved prozac daily. The cat was nuts, as in would attack anyone who came into the house and had major issues with going to the bathroom anywhere it felt like and the mediation actually settled her down somewhat. QUite a few vets are not familliar with this treatment but it could be something to look into for George.

 

[Amy27]

Thanks everyone for the suggestions.

Beth, I have heard of that Rescue Remedy. I may get some and see what is in it. I am sure the vet could tell me if it would hurt George. With him being allergic to everything I have to watch what I give him or put on him because he licks 24-7.

werecatrising, Thanks for letting me know my cat isn't the only one that acts like that. I always feel so bad for the vet and the vet techs. I wrote down the name sevo and will ask the vet about it.

dquesnel, I didn't know they had Prozac for animals. I am going to ask about that. That would be awesome because maybe he would be calmer at home too. He doesn't get real bad at home but if he wants to do something and I won't let him he hisses at me and will bat his paws at me. For example if I try to move him away from the stove when I am cooking or chase him out of the bunnies rooms because he is not allowed in there.

Thanks again everyone, your posts made me feel a lot better and there are a lot of great suggestions here.

 

[ARobinson]

Does George NEED his vaccines? We have indoor cats, and my cats had their initial vaccines and then nothing ever again... They are indoor only, have no exposure to the outdoors, and I don't believe in "over vaccinating" (cats or dogs). If he lives inside, is content and healthy, and he hates the vet that much - why not leave well enough alone? My very first pet I asked for was a kitten, and he lived to be 16 years old, as an indoor cat, and only had received his kitten shots. Nothing further.

Or, if you feel that strongly about vaccinating, why not get them and do them yourself, at home, in a calmer atmosphere?



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Annie :bunny19