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.
I'm so glad your cat is healthy!
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