Our black cat is really spotted!

Not sure if you can see it very well, but in the center of the photo, there is a spot that is brownish under the black fur. That is the cat's skin. He has spotted skin.

Lathandar had mats and we were cutting them off and noticed the spots. He has them in various places on his body. So our black cat is really a spotted cat. 

This is a Pringle's Chip that I had to take away from our cat, Mystique. She was enjoying it greatly. She hasn't read the same books that I have that say she is an obligatory carnivore. Crazy chip cat. 

I have seen those photos where the dogs don't get their bigger beds because the cats take it and then the dog is stuck with the cat's smaller beds. This happens at our house, too. Only, we have more than one doggy bed and more than one kitty bed. 

Here is Mystique in the doggy bed. It was empty and she didn't chase any dogs away. The next photo shows you why she is in their bed. (and the bedding needs washed now that the snow is melting.)

Here is Jedi on the cat's mat. It is too small for him and he is using it as a pillow. The dogs, with all their fluffy fur, get hot and the pillows in their beds makes them even hotter. They find the flat kitty mats cooler and more to their liking. 

So don't feel sorry for the dogs, they had two more beds in the room that they were ignoring. 

Lathandar's teeth and eye problems.

In this photo of Lathandar sitting on our printer, you can see that his eyes are dialated.

We finally got our cat, Lathandar (13 years old this upcoming April and currently weighs 11 pounds and 12 ounces) into the vet. There were so many weather related cancellations and rescheduling 

We were concerned about Lathandar's eyes and his teeth. Good news, no sign of cancer in his eyes or his mouth. I was worried and can pretty much deal with anything else.

First, many of his teeth have fallen out and we never realized that he had any teeth problems! He is the cat that sits up high and watches over us, very sweet on his part, but because he is so stoic, we hadn't realized the problems with his teeth. He is not a complainer. He yawned one day and I noticed he was missing teeth. That was the only indication anything was wrong.

The vet explained that he wasn't in any pain and illustrated the point by pushing on some teeth and gums to show us that Lathandar didn't react. The vet, a very nice person, did explain that some cats have roots that reabsorb into the gum and then the teeth get loose and fall out. Since he was not in pain, the vet saw no reason for dental surgery. I was relieved because I was worried about what could go wrong in surgery and possible anesthesia problems. Also, our cats don’t like leaving the house and get very stressed.

I had wonderful internet friend who helped calm my concerns by explaining that some breeds tend to lose their teeth and she had a tortie who lost teeth as well. That is what happened to our little guy. His teeth just fell out and it wasn't an infection or rotten teeth. His gums just reabsorbed. 

Lathandar also had eye problems. His eyes are constantly dilated. I had been told by someone from the net that it was from his teeth causing him pain, but the vet ruled that out. The vet did a special test to look into the cats eyes and saw no problems, meaning healthy capillaries and such. The vet also ruled out glaucoma and cancer (cancer was the one that I was worried about). She explained that it was an iris degenerative problem related to his age. The cat seems to have decent vision and doesn’t miss what is going on around him. He can see things coming at him and even grabbed at the table when they were putting him down. She did give us a pamphlet for a pet ophthalmologist in case we are worried, but said that the cat isn't in pain. *sigh of relief*

They did blood work and took his blood pressure which was great, especially for a stressed cat at the vet. I'm convinced it was because he had his blankie from home, so take your fur babies blanket or favorite toy when going to a stressful event. It may help.

The blood work showed healthy liver, kidneys, and thyroid. Even the white blood cells were fine. So, the vet gave us a clean bill of health and told us that if we were still concerned that they could do another blood test in 6 months to a year from now. 

I am so relieved that our little guy is basically healthy. Yes, his teeth are falling out, but no pain or infection. The lack of infection was determined by the white blood test numbers. His eyes are doing something crazy, but the vet isn't worried and it seems to be an age related thing. We are adding KMR to his diet to make sure he gets some extra calories and nutrients, which we have done various times during our kitties’ lives. They love the KMR so we don't mind giving it to them as a snack.  

The worst part of the vet time was that Lathandar did not like leaving home. He kept meowing in the car, a horrible sounding cry. He was not happy at all. I am so glad we took his cat blankie with us. He laid on it at the vets and they even took it with them when they drew his blood in the back room which is where they looked into his eyes. 

I, of course, was nervous and worried. As soon as they took him from me, my stomach started hurting. All better now and life is again happy for Lathandar in his comfortable home. Thank goodness for patient vets who indulge us nervous parents by explaining so much and answering our questions.