Seven Years and New Machine ...cat friendly!

[mobychick]

Hi Everyone,

It's been so long since I last posted here.

This forum was a Godsend to me when I started sleep apnoea therapy seven years ago!

I had lost count of the years, thinking it was less than five years since I started, so am delighted to learn I can get insurance subsidy on a new machine.

There have been so many improvements and innovations over the years.

Though I have a Resmed S8 Auto, I have been running it on CPAP for years around 10.5. So I'm thinking of getting a CPAP this time round as it will be cheaper.

I am also tempted to go for the climate control option. My one concern here is my cat (don't tell me to shut her out of the bedroom, it won't happen!). If she does happen to get her claws in one of the new climate control hose systems, will it

a) lead to the end of the hose and

b) lead to a fried kitty?

Would it be cheaper to go for the trusty "Aussie Heated Hose"?

Ideas please?

thanks!

[zoocrewphoto]

I have the Resmed S9 autoset with heated hose. I've been using the same hose for 2 years now with no problems from the cats. I have 3 who take turns sleeping around me, and I share hotel rooms with friends and their cats (loose in the room). Other than the occasional power loss due to kitty standing on the power button, I have had no issues with the cats.

You could probably put a fleece cozy over the hose to protect it just in case.

[mobychick]

Thanks, Zoocrewphoto! and it sounds like you have an interesting life!

[zoocrewphoto]

Thanks, Zoocrewphoto! and it sounds like you have an interesting life!

I go to cat shows, so my friends and I share hotel rooms to save money. We've had as many as 7 cats in a hotel room with 6 of them running loose in the room at night. Usually, we only have 4 or 5. I take the same 2 all the time, and my friends tend to change which cats they show each season, so there have been a variety in the past few years. And the season just changed, so next month will probably be a new variety for them

If anybody lives in the Portland, OR area, I will be at a cat show there next month.

[archangle]

Get the AutoSet vs. the Elite, especially if your doctor is willing to prescribe a pressure range and insurance will pay. You'll have the machine for many years, and the extra capability of Auto is good to have in your toolkit in case you need to work on problems several years down the road.

Re: kitty, remember you don't have to use a heated hose if you don't have rainout problems. I use a non-heated hose on mine, and I got 4 genuine Respironics unheated hoses for under $20 from eBay.

If you go heated, get 1 or 2 replacement hoses (and masks) as soon as your insurance allows, then just replace them as they actually need replacement. I like to swap hoses and masks once a week and let the just cleaned hose sit and dry out until I switch them in next week's cleaning cycle.

[mobychick]

Thanks archangle. Unfortunately for us aussies, our insurance works differently. I just get the $700 every 5 years.

I do desperately need the heated hose. I need to work out the cheapest way to get it, especially if it needs maintenance before 5 years are up. That is a good question for my sleep tech on Monday.

Thanks!!!

[library lady]

It could make a difference if your cat has been declawed... but maybe you haven't wanted to that. My brother refuses to do that to his cats... my sister's have been declawed, and The One Who Uses a Hose (me) doesn't even have a cat. But it seems to me it could have an effect on the kind of damage your cat could do. If I had a cat, I would probably get a hose cozy.

[zoocrewphoto]

It could make a difference if your cat has been declawed... but maybe you haven't wanted to that. My brother refuses to do that to his cats... my sister's have been declawed, and The One Who Uses a Hose (me) doesn't even have a cat. But it seems to me it could have an effect on the kind of damage your cat could do. If I had a cat, I would probably get a hose cozy.

Please don't consider declawing. It is extremely painful for cats as they have remove the first section of toe, not just the nail. Many cats who are declaw end up having biting issues (more dangerous than scratching), kitty litter issues (too painful to walk and dig in the litter), and early arthritis problems (cats are supposed to walk on their toes, and that changes completely with a declaw). Many countries have already outlawed declawing because of the harm it causes. We still do it in the USA because it is a money maker.

It is much easier to trim nails, teach them to scratch in appropriate places, and simply cover the hose.

[Pugsy]

Kitty may not even find the hose interesting. I have a Bengal and she has never even wanted to play, touch or fiddle with any of my hoses.
You can get a hose cozy though to add a little extra padding.

[mobychick]

No, I would never declaw. I doubt an aussie vet would do it anyway.

Thinking about it, my cat (a rescued adult Russian Blue ) isn't particularly playful and doesn't play with the hose; my concern is that she loves to climb on top of me and "knead" me. I'm concerned she might catch the hose, but !!! if I suspend the hose from above my head it will be well out of her way.

Thanks guys.

[10032011]

My cat figured out to pull the mask from my face to wake me when he wants to eat !

[chunkyfrog]

That statement makes want to check if there's anything new with Simon's cat.

[codinqueen]

My cat, Zamba, has no interest in my hose or mask, and when I am not using it during the day I hide it under my pillow. I use no-alcohol, no-aloe baby wipes to clean it daily. I close the door to the laundry room when I fully wash & dry the mask & hose, so he can't get at it. But I have never even seen him near it. He likes to knead me ("making biscuits") on occasion, but I have a Cozy Hose mounted on the wall above my side of the bed and he isn't anywhere near the mask or tubing when he makes biscuits, since he does that on my chest. I have only had one heated hose that bit the dust, broke thru at the end it attaches to the machine, that wasn't Zamba's fault.

[mobychick]

"Making biscuits" That's exactly what it's like. Sometimes all four legs at once, sometimes with back legs splayed to get more 'ooomph' into the front claws. She also likes to push her rear end right into the mask vent in the middle of the night...why she wants 36L air per minute blowing up her khazi is anyone's guess.

Thanks for the pointers re the hose too. She hasn't shown any interest in it so far, so I guess I'm lucky too. I've had three masks chewed by dogs (twice through my carelessness, once by a foster beagle. You can't keep anything out of reach of a determined beagle. It was drying in a basket on a shelf way out of reach, so I thought).