Pookey just came to me in his best Jan Brady (Marsha, Marsha, Marsha) voice and said, "Stanley, Stanley, Stanley, you are always updating them on Stanley. Tell them about me for once!"

Pookey had a vet visit earlier. Overlooking the fact that his leg was amputated due to cancer caused by a Rabies vaccination three years ago, he's always been the picture of health -- his blood and urine have always come back exceptionally "normal" thru the years. He may finally break out of normal. His Thyroid numbers were just outside of normal six months ago. They are re-testing with a full blood test/thyroid break-down. His weight, behavior, and eating are all the same; no weight gain or loss. She can't feel any enlarging of the thyroid. She will call Monday with the results, but she says it can be slow moving. It could show up soon, or may take a couple years for him to have thyroid problems. When it does show, it can be fairly easily controlled by meds.

She did take him to the back room to draw blood and had some new techs on staff. She asked them how old they thought he was and they all agreed about 8 years old. LOL. He's 15. He doesn't have "old cat" face as she calls it, both he and Stanley look and act much younger than they are.

So, we've now hit the Senior cat trifecta of common problems between the two. Cancer, Kidney, and Thyroid. Stanley's hard stools are also on the top of the list, as is his brain swelling. Fortunately, everything has been caught early, is fairly easily treatable, diet and med changes fairly inexpensive, and the quality of life for all of the above has been kept "normal", with the help of one medication for Stanley each day...

We've been very lucky so far. Next month Stanley hits one year since his brain swelling and he was given 4-6 months to live. Steroids have kept him perfectly normal for months now. She says the longer he goes without a reoccurance, the better. So far, he's maintained almost a year... That's really the only shoe I am waiting to drop with these two. Stanley to get dizzy one day...

I can't stress enough that when your cat hits around 10 or 11, take him in for vet checks every six months vs. every year. Early detection adds years to their lives... I usually have overall blood run every six months, urine once a year, and more focused blood work (such as kidney or thyroid) if something shows up on the overall panel. Also around 8-10 their diet needs will probably change -- they can gain weight. It is an indicator it is time to switch to Senior food.

Oh, back to Pookey since this is about him... Did I mention they think he is 8 at the vet?
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Tammy
Stanley and Pookey

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