pets

[kteague]

Karen - great stories.

Hope your neighboring pet psychic isn't the same one I saw on HGTV earlier on Leader of the Pack. A family took 8 dogs home and had contests for immunity and each week one dog had to be voted out of the household. The psychic got info from each child and used it to act like she knew something when talking to the other kids. But what yanked my chain is the oldest son was very emotionally attached to one dog, and the dog with him. Reality is his dog was not the favorite of the rest of the family and it might get voted out. But did miss-know-it-all care how much she might deepen his pain? No. She spoke with authority as she told him the reason he and the dog bonded so deeply was because they knew each other in a previous life. I can't even say how angry I was at her for adding this burden to the kid. The younger brother was more mature than she. He voted the dog he loved off to spare his brother the pain of losing his.

Sorry, off the soapbox now.

By the way, my cats like to sit in front of the fan, not necessarily facing it though. Hair, hair, everywhere hair.

[bud_2005]

I realize I may have to sedate the cat night to fit the mask on him and for him to sleep with it on. And I may need to putting something over the hose in case he tries to put holes in it.

[Julie]

If you're actually serious about that, just please don't do it! The cat will awake at some point in abject terror and probably kill itself trying to get away from the stupid mask and blown in air. What's wrong with you!

[bud_2005]

No No No I'm just was talking about with the rapid pace of technology this may be a reality some day you never know.

[Julie]

Whew!

[frenchie]

I have a french bulldog and I am sure he has sleep apnea. When I first got him he was 6 months old. The first few days I had him He would snore in his sleep and he would stop breathing. In fact he would stop for so long that I had to wake him up to make sure he was ok. It used to scare the heck out of me. He stil snores but doenst stop breathing as often as he used to. I dont think he would wear a mask though and he doesnt have a long enough face or nose to wear a mask.

[Karla1958]

When i started reading these posts I was real upset because I thought someone was going to try and hook a cat up to a cpap machine, but I hope they were kidding. I hope! But after reading all the cute posts about peoples beloved cats and dogs, I think I changed my mind about that post. I love hearing about people's pets, it makes everyone here seem much more human that just a name on a list. Now, I still don't think a cat needs a cpap machine, but I think it might be good to encourage people to get their cats a check up at the vets if they notice things changing with their pets. Cats do usually hide their illnesses. I have to say that ever since I've had this idiopathic hypersomnia I noticed my cats seem to like me better... I know, that's strange, but they like when I sleep with them all those hours that they sleep. And now sometimes I actually out sleep them and they get up and get into things while I'm dead asleep. (Like learning to open cabinets and crawling in and chewing on my makeup brushes- they love the natural bristles!!)

So, I'm so glad that that person started with a weird cat cpap question. I enjoy the cat stories, and dog stories. I know this probably isn't the place for it, but I still enjoy it all. I still don't think a cat will go quietly into a cpap mask, but it makes a good story at the ER while the nurses are sewing up all those kitty bites and scratches. And when you heal up from that episode of trying a mask on the cat and can use your hands again to type, please write back and let us know how it went. And everyone can share their cat stories with me anytime, I just wish there was a place to put the pictures of these adorable animals too. Everyone hug and kiss your animals for me...

Karla

[elg5cats]

I have a snoring Himalyan........they have the Persian face and tend to snore..........Mr. Sami snores with great gusto! He has awakened me many times over his sweet long life. I got a video of him sleeping sounding and snoring like crazy..........as he's aged, at times he exhales through his mouth during snoring episodes........which is really anticat breathing traits. Mouth breathing is considered respiratory distress in cats.......Sami doesn't inhale through his mouth, but exhales and only during snoring episodes! Sami is 17 and has nasal congestion and chronic pancreatitis. He gets 1-3 daily saline solution inhalations by nebulizer..........yes he inhales from a mask with an occassional sniff or maybe a sneeze. Really doesn't seem to mind it at all!! However, the mask is not secured snugly to his face, more of a blowby flow. Sami and his sister Blue Angel get a nightly injection of pecid and weekly B12 injections for the pancreatitis........They are as "normal" as expected for soon to be 17 year old cats!!! still chase the laser, love a feather chase, and sleep (apnea or not) about the normal 18 hours aday! Neither are bothered by my mask/hose. Blue Angel will come and park on my chest some mornings for kitty snuggles. She'll sniff at the mask or hose but usually just lies down hoping for a kitty hugs and snuggles!!!!

[mars]

Fortunately neither of my cats snore, or have difficulty with their breathing.

I had a neighbour once whose long-haired cat wheezed a lot, but she didn't think it was serious. By the time she took it to the Vet it was too late to do anything, and her cat died very soon after. She was absolutely distraught.

I had a Cornish Rex who failed at jumping every now and then. The Vet did some kind of test to see if Smokey moved his legs when being moved towards a table edge. Smokey did move them, and the Vet said nothing was wrong. Smokey died of leukemia not long afterwards. I had seen something wrong and I should have pursued it much more vigorously than I did.

Just as we try to act normal with untreated sleep apnea, and most people think we are ok, so cats and dogs can have untreated respiratory and other problems, and they act (or try to act) as if they are ok. It is up to us to watch out for them, and get them to a Vet who will take our concerns seriously.

My oldest cat, Dusty, still hasn't figured out how to wash my face with my mask on, which she likes to do when she sees me stirring in the morning.

Really enjoyed all the posts.

cheers

Mars

[mars]

I have a french bulldog and I am sure he has sleep apnea.

Hi All,

Figured this was the right place to post a piece of news about sleep apnea in dogs that I read from a link at "CPAP News - 05/22/10 Snoring, grinding teeth getting worse."

http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id ... f=obinsite

I remember that my neighbours cat in the previous post was an exotic, with a flat face, so there may be something in that article that applies to cats as well.

By the way, I have had my ex-feral cat Dusty for 14 years now. She would always sit on my lap whilst I was on the computer, but never whilst I was reading or watching TV. Well, in the last 12 months she has decided to become a lap cat, so every time I sit down in my arm-chair, she joins me on my lap, washes me, settles down and curls up.

So now I have to make sure everything I want is in reach before I sit down, and who says that older cats are stuck in their ways?

cheers

Mars

PS - I see that Frenchie has not been around since August 2009, so I have sent her a PM about this.

[Julie]

Oh that drives me crazy too! Nothing like getting all settled in (with the cat holding you down) only to find you forgot your drink, book, snack, whatever!