Complete Care for Your Aging Cat - Amy Shojai [50]
· Protect the Bandage: There are a variety of bandages designed for different injuries, and your veterinarian will show you how to change them, if necessary. Primarily, your job is to keep the bandage clean and dry. It’s best to keep cats with bandages confined indoors to avoid contaminating the bandage.
· Prevent licking and chewing: Cats dislike anything “stuck” to their fur or body, and most will try to remove a bandage. A collar restraint prevents the wrong kind of attention. You can often repel licking of suture sites or bandages by applying strong-smelling Vicks Vapor Rub. The menthol tends to be off-putting. A cat that ignores his bandaged and then suddenly decides it must come off may have an infection brewing under the cover, or the bandage may be too tight. Ask your veterinarian to check the situation.
The definition of a “good” quality of life varies between individual owners and cats. How well or poorly a cat functions during illness or convalescence is influenced by veterinary support and your own care for him.
Cats consider their humans to be surrogate moms. “When they see their owner they know that protection is coming, that security is coming, that my owner/companion is here. That makes a big difference for them,” says Dr. McCullough. Caring for these aging and sometimes ill pets by nursing them at home can be a loving and meaningful experience for you both.
Comfort Zone
Cats recovering from illness or injury may not be able to reach the litter box in time, or may have trouble getting in and out. Bathroom accidents are not only frustrating for owners, but they can impact the cat’s health as well.
Save yourself frustration and aggravation by confining the cat to an easy-to-clean area, such as a cat carrier, or a small room with linoleum.
Provide a temporary litter box with lower, more accessible sides. Disposable foil cookie sheets from the grocery work well.
Protect carpet and furniture by putting down sheets of plastic and spreading disposable diapers or products like Depend Undergarments to catch the urine.
Bath Wipes for are alcohol-free pre-moistened wipes with skin conditioners. They are soothing to inflamed skin, and come in resealable packages.
3M Cavilon No Sting Barrier Film is a liquid barrier that dries quickly to form a breathable, transparent coating to the skin. This human product is designed to protect intact or damaged skin from urine, feces, other body fluids, tape trauma, and friction—and it is also ideal for pets with incontinence problems.
Products such as Dri-Dek elevate the pet from the floor to keep her away from “accidents.” The waffle-shaped material comes in sheets that can be fitted to your size needs.
CHAPTER 5—ADVANCED CARE OPTIONS
According to the American Animal Hospital Association, 84 percent of owners surveyed said they refer to themselves as their pet’s “Mom” or “Dad,” and 74 percent would go into debt for their pet’s well being. Because so many of us consider cats to be part of the family, we want to prolong that relationship for as long as possible. To do that, more and more owners seek a very high level of care thereby spurring veterinary medicine to ever greater heights to answer the demand.
The local veterinarian has all the necessary training and skills to care for your aging cat throughout a healthy old age. Specific health problems of geriatric cats, though, often benefit from the expertise of a veterinary specialist.
Veterinary Specialists
After eight to ten years of study to attain their DVM or VMD (general practitioner’s degree), veterinarians can continue with three to seven or more years of further study to qualify as a “board-certified specialist” in a particular health discipline. There are more than twenty specialty boards, referred to as “colleges,” which provide certification. A veterinary specialist is said to be a “diplomate” of a particular college specialty. The designation