Andy had a visit to the veterinarian today. He growled a bit when the technician shaved his foot to take his blood pressure, but I wrapped myself around him to help him feel safer. He was, of course, basically a very good kitty!
Yes, his blood pressure still is a bit elevated, so we put him back on his medication. It’s best for his kidneys, and, as we all know now, he has hit the big 5.0!
When we got home, he ran to greet his brother. They sniffed each other, then me. “That you!? That you, brother!? You smell different.” Slowly, they agreed they were each other and I was the other one, for sure! They ran off to the guest bedroom.
Andy got there first.
“Where are you, brother?” Andy expected Dougy to follow.
Dougy hid in plain view, if behind the exerciser.
“Hee! Hee!” Kitty humor is a bit arcane.
If Dougy’s going to be that way, Andy’s going to let him know how he feels about that!
I don’t blame Andy in the least. How dare they shave off some of his gorgeous fur! It’s not like it’s going to to grow back before he has to have his picture taken for the blog.
His tail is Andy’s pride and joy…!
It is pretty amazing.
Fortunately, the groomers leave the boys’ tails alone when they trim them up.
Love it! Poor little fellows losing each other.
The little game they made up is one way they locate each other. The game starts with a yowl that brings the missing brother running to where his brother is.
They sound like so much fun.
They are!
Glad you have a way to monitor and manage Andy’s blood pressure and heart murmur.
It’s a bit of a process. They take six or seven readings, toss out the highest one, and (I guess) average the others to get a sense of what his blood pressure is. The heart murmur hasn’t caused him any noticeable problems. He’s still pretty active, in kitty terms!
I am curious- did they check it more than once because when cats are at the vet their bp goes up because they are nervous. I know our vet techs do a few readings and then average them out so I was curious as to what other places do. Poor Andy.
I read your comment after the one from leggypeggy. Yes, that’s exactly how they do it! Also, I surrounded him with my arm, pet and talked with him to help him feel less stressed. He cussed out everyone when the technician shaved what would correspond with the bottom of our foot, but that was a reaction to the vibrations of the clippers, not a pain reaction. It took a few shots at it to get the job done, but he handled the pressure of the cuff without a problem.
Does he need to visit the doctor often, or is this part of his annual physical?
No, this is a follow up appointment. While I was gone, the people taking care of the kitty boys weren’t sure which one was Andy. They didn’t try to keep up with the medication for fear of giving it to the wrong cat. When I got back home 2+ months later, Andy seemed OK without medication. I asked his veterinarian if he should come in for a follow up examination to determine if he was OK without the medication or if he should go back on it. His veterinarian said yes. Anyway, my own medical issues pretty much wiped out the times I could get in, and 3+ months after I got home, I was finally able to coordinate my time with his veterinarian’s. Andy’s blood pressure was at the bottom of what’s considered “high” for cats. We decided to continue the medication since high blood pressure is a contributory factor in kidney problems, which, as you know, is one of those kitty problems that can cause problems in older cats. I hate to think of it, but the kitty boys are 5 years old, which is approaching middle age.
I know I always have issues telling them apart in photos, but assumed it was easier in ‘real life’, when one could see their eye color and/or compare any size difference, etc. Hope all 3 of you are feeling well and loving life.
A lot easier, Jean! Dougy looks more Persian than Andy, with a broader head and shoulders. Andy takes more after the Birman side of his family (father), with a more slender build. He weighs less than Dougy, too. He has yellow eyes, where Dougy’s are more orangy-brown. Of the two, Dougy is more likely to walk up to you. Andy will walk toward you, but is more shy.
I knew Andy was the one with yellow eyes, so – when possible – I check eye color before I read the text… it’s a sort of challenge to see if I can tell them apart. Without open eyes, I’m about 50%….
Unfortunately, eye color isn’t always obvious in photos, and more often that not, their eyes aren’t open all the way in photos unless I’m taking the photo in a spot with excellent natural light. I try to remember to identify them by name in photos since it is difficult to tell them apart in photos.
Very true, but it’s a fun guessing game. 😉
If I don’t label the photos adequately, I have been know to mislabel them later, then wonder if I got it right….
Well then, I don’t feel so bad about my 50% ratio! Thanks. (even though I suspect you said that to be nice ;-)))
Not even! I truly do take lots of photos to get a few that work or nearly work with lots of Photoshopping….
Sorry to hear Andy had to go back on his meds. I hope he is OK. Our dear departed Mr. Austin had high blood pressure, but it turned out to be the white coat hypertension kind. They sent the kitty BP unit home with us for a week to check that. He did have kidney problems towards the end of his life, and had a hear murmur that came and went. He was a few months shy of 20 when he passed on.
My own mother had a heart murmur from birth, and “only” lived to be a few days short of her 99th birthday. She had high blood pressure, too. Anyway, Andy may not agree with me, but the medication is worth it if it helps with the blood pressure. See my comment elsewhere about what I did to help Andy relax. I mentioned to the technician about my concern that he might have white coat hypertension! He certainly cussed her out when she shaved his foot, so i knew he was stressed! Andy is a very mild cat otherwise.
Lands sakes alive!! A visit to the vets is always nerve wracking for mom and us. Mom because we sing to her constantly and us cause the vet is just plain rude! You guys are very polite sniffing each other. Shoks sniffs me and tells me I stink…so I have to go clean up before I can get near her. Of course, if Shoko goes to the vet, she stinks. MOL
Kitty Kisses,
Kali
Andy is a very good boy at the veterinarian’s, though he certainly cussed everyone out yesterday when he objected to having his foot clipped! He made up for the rough time, though, when he got back home, as you will see in Post 1087.
I hope the little fella is alright and that he stays that way. I had to take my little bird, “Sugar” tpo the vet today because has been moping around and not feeling all that well for awhile now and I got worried. Seems like he had a little cold and needed some antibiotic and a change in some of his diet and all is well. Thank God! So my prayers and wishes are always with you and your precious darling kitties.
Andy has a heart murmur, though manages quite well despite it. He also has blood pressure at the bottom of the “bad” level. I often wonder how much of that is the kitty version of how people have high blood pressure when they get it taken at the doctor’s but not otherwise. He also has some sort of food allergy that his veterinarian and I are work out. He’s all tuckered out from his big day out, now, and is sleeping away on the computer desk, next to me.