CPAP and Cats - a lesson

bikergramma · Post by **bikergramma** » Fri Mar 16, 2007 10:43 pm

Hi -- just wanted to share what's happened with me and our new kittens!!!

The kittens are now almost 6 months old...we got them when they were 2 months old. Adorable......little hellions!!!!!:twisted: Anyway -- I've been using CPAP for 8 months...the first few months were wonderful!!! No problems, slept like a log, felt so rested in the mornings!!! Then in this last 2 months I've been having problems! I'd wake up in the morning with the mast off and the machine turned off. Sometimes I'd remember waking up feeling like I was suffocating. I couldn't figure it out!!! Doctor couldn't figure it out. I'm exhausted......frustrated.

Then -- 2 nights ago I saw something I couldn't believe....then last night confirmed it. One of the kittens (Donner) was sitting on my bedstand watching me. I didn't open my eyes all the way because I was too tired to get up and feed him -- besides, it was 3:30 in the morning!!!! Then he did the unbelievable.....he reached over to the CPAP machine and pawed at it until he turned it off....then he turned back, with those big wide eyes, and waited!!!! Sure enough, no air, had to take the mask off. The little devil has figured out that if he turns it off, I'll get up and feed him!!!!

Well, we fooled him....DH made a box to fit over the machine.....if this cat figures out how to turn it off now, he's going to the humane society

We decided to share this little bit of humor to warn other pet owners!!! And no, we can't put them in the garage or the laundry room......we're going RVing full-time as soon as the house sells and there won't be anyplace but with us to sleep!

Sleep well, everyone

dee

Linda3032 · Post by **Linda3032** » Fri Mar 16, 2007 10:53 pm

Dee, how funny. We read stories like that from time to time here. Just watch out for your hose. More than once I've read that the kittens claw it and make holes in it. You might want to get an extra hose, just in case.

I wonder where you are -- I notice that your "guest" status said that sometimes you post as me. Usually, that only happens with AOL users. But I'm not aol, and I'm located in Arkansas using Hughes.net. Are you?

bikergramma · Post by **bikergramma** » Fri Mar 16, 2007 10:57 pm

Linda --- I've only posted a few times here....and bikergramma is always how I post!!! I'm in Oregon --- and I have Hughes, too!!! (NEVER will have AOL again!) That's rather odd, isn't it????

Yes, I have an extra hose.....I caught them playing with it one day and got smart with that!

Linda3032 · Post by **Linda3032** » Fri Mar 16, 2007 11:01 pm

Well, you aren't signed in - as in registered. That's why it says you are a guest still.

And the fact that we both use Hughes.net is the reason that it thinks we are the same person. Sometimes this forum does that in error. No biggie.

SleepingBeauty · Post by **SleepingBeauty** » Sat Mar 17, 2007 8:12 am

I have three kittens that are now 15 weeks old. They haven't figured out exactly how to turn my machine off...but I have woken up to the machine being off and struggling to breathe, only to discover one of the sitting on the machine with their weight on the "on/off" button.

I need to make a box for the top of mine too, I guess. What did you make yours from that allows enough air to get to the machine?

snoozeandlose · Post by **snoozeandlose** » Sat Mar 17, 2007 9:50 am

Aren't felines great. My 8 month Tony loves the pressure tubing that runs from the end of the hose into the machine. Several inches are exposed. I have discovered teeth marks piercing it and have had to replace it a couple times which is a real nuisance. Now I put machine in the drawer during the day. It's a Puritan Bennent so it fits easily.

Slinky · Post by **Slinky** » Sat Mar 17, 2007 10:20 am

Our rescue cat, the "ghetto cat" has become quite an affectionate house cat and can be a real PITA at times.

I was making the bed one morning, I had my mask and hose still laying on the pillow, reached to pick it up to put away and Trubble took a friendly swipe at it. That caused me to drop it. Dropping it broke the hard plastic elbow to the cushion. That meant a trip to the DME to get another one. That meant a bit of a "discussion" w/the DME before they "found" one in their Miscellaenous box as they "don't carry replacement parts".

Except that night it turns out little darling Trubble had also evidently managed to get a claw in the cushion. Which meant a rough nite on an ill-fitting, previously discarded mask. AND yet another trip to the DME (this all during the Christmas and New Year holidays, mind you). This time the DME didn't have any replacement nasal cushions because they "don't carry replacement nasal cushions" (despite Medicare patients are eligible for 2 nasal cushions every 30 days). It took them 2 1/2 weeks to GET me 2 replacement cushions.

She's good at other antics that exasperate us as well. That's how her name became Trubble. Or Trub for short.

mkirkwag · Post by **mkirkwag** » Sat Mar 17, 2007 2:19 pm

Thanks for sharing. Ours came pre-named - Lucy. I've renamed her LucyFur.

Pad A Cheek · Post by **Pad A Cheek** » Sat Mar 17, 2007 4:01 pm

Hello,
Sounds like you have some pretty smart kitties there. Wake you up, they get food.

You mentioned that your husband made a box for your CPAP machine. I was at an AWAKE meeting Thursday March 15 and the discussion came up about a gentleman who made a cover for his CPAP machine. Apparently he made it too closed and ended up in the emergency room because he did not have a way for air to get into the box.

I only know of this from what a person at the meeting said. At any rate, if you are going to make a box for your CPAP please make sure there is air circulating into the box for you to breathe. Put holes in the box, or raise it up on legs with the bottom out or something. Stay safe as you keep the kittens away.

Take care all,

Karen Moore

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Sat Mar 17, 2007 4:18 pm

What about one of those cat crates with the chicken wire or some kind of 'fencing' looking stuff to either put over the machine...or maybe the cat? I love cat stories. Mine isn't quite that smart. He just yells or bites when he wants food.

jskinner · Post by **jskinner** » Sat Mar 17, 2007 5:28 pm

Reminds me of this video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WofFb_eOxxA

bdp522 · Post by **bdp522** » Sat Mar 17, 2007 5:36 pm

If you have a cat carrier...put the machine in it. A small one like this
http://tinyurl.com/2w29nk

should work fine. I got the idea from my Aunt. When my cousin was 2, and she put up the x-mas tree, she put the tree in the play pen and let him have his freedom! Worked great!

Brenda

zhotster · Post by **zhotster** » Sat Mar 17, 2007 5:54 pm

This is the cutest story!!! Thank you for sharing. If our cat did this, they'd probably be down 1 or 2 of their 9 lives

Lynmar · Post by **Lynmar** » Sat Mar 17, 2007 6:13 pm

I've only been using my apap for two weeks but already know the tricks. I put the machine under a chair so the cat can't get on top of it. Also, I put the whole thing in an under the bed box during the time I'm not physically with it.

I learned the hard way - by my one cat turning the radio on and off - and the other cat chewing on the vacuum cleaner hose. The hose chewer can't get in the bedroom at night.

LoriD · Post by **LoriD** » Sat Mar 17, 2007 7:38 pm

Mine don't chew things, but to them, EVERYTHING is a toy, which is why I put the mask and hose away in a cupboard during the day and the machine is tucked away out of the reach of little paw paws during the night while it is on.

I remember when I first got my machine, my four year old orange tabby growled at it, especially when I was using it. The cats wouldn't come into bed with me for a long time at first, but they are back at their posts again now, with the exception of one howling in my ear every morning for their breakfast.

CPAP and Cats - a lesson

CPAP and Cats - a lesson

CPAP and Cats - a lesson

LOL!

Box over CPAP machine