CPAP machine vs. Cat

BleepingBeauty wrote:Cats are so funny (and demanding). Mine don't wake me, as they've always got food and water available. Has Boris ever bitten a hole in a hose or damaged one of your masks? Or is he so demanding that you wake up before he's able to do any real damage?

The strange thing is that my cats always have food & water, too. But ... Boris wants fresh food. My other cats would wake me up, but when I didn't get up, they'd lay down and go to sleep. Even though I fill their bowls before I go to bed, I have to put at least a few fresh pieces of food on top in the morning, or Boris isn't happy. A little over a year ago, he was a stray and would eat anything in sight. Now he's picky and demands fresh food. Filling the bowls twice a day is not sufficient for him (though that's all he gets).

Re the mask etc., the hose huggie protects the hose. I've no doubt it would have many holes by now if I hadn't gotten the huggie. Boris loves the glider strap on my mask and has chewed it good, after leaping up and pulling it off a hook at the top of the bathroom door. He also put one fang mark in the foam cushion. I've ordered some replacement glider straps and now keep the mask in a bathroom drawer during the day. When I take the mask off, Boris dives after it, and I have to ball it up in my hand and hold it out of reach! My vet thinks he's about five or six.

Ben was a stray too, and I got him seven years ago when he was absolutely emaciated. He likes to drink out of the faucet rather than a bowl, so he comes and gets me when he wants the faucet turned on. We think he's about nine. My other cats have come from the humane society with the exception of one, who I got from my vet. Adopting all of them has been serendipitous. I could go on and on with cat stories, but I'll stop now.

Twokatmew - why not get your cat one of those fountain type drinking set-ups - all cats like fresh water and those, because they run all the time (from a small reservoir inside) are really popular.

Julie wrote:Twokatmew - why not get your cat one of those fountain type drinking set-ups - all cats like fresh water and those, because they run all the time (from a small reservoir inside) are really popular.

Actually I had one of those years ago for my first pair of cats, Quincy and Sadie. I found it was difficult to clean and got slimy in spots that I couldn't get to when cleaning. Maybe they've improved over the years. I think what Ben likes is the cold water from the faucet. ...Or perhaps he just likes to inconvenience me by getting me up to turn on the faucet!

WearyOne wrote: Somehow I missed this, not realizing one of your cats is named Turtle as well!!
Pam

So I'm not losing it!

I read the Turtle posts at 3 AM and was a bit confused. I did not go back and carefully re-read the posts, but figured that they both can't have cats named Turtle, and just let it go.

Years ago, I had a bunch of aquatic turtles as pets.

And one of them was named ... (just kidding).

Here is Boris after making a satisfying meal of my mask's glider strap:


Here are Ben and Rupert (made my avatar from this pic). Sadly I had to put Rupert down in June of 2007, as he was very ill from small cell lymphoma. This is such a great photo! Unfortunately Ben and Boris are not the great buds that Ben and Rupert were.

twokatmew,

I had been wanting to see the full picture of that icon so I'm glad you posted it. Very smart that your carpet matches your yellow cat.

Robert and I have a very special cat that was born with a hole in her heart. I found her in our pasture when she and her brother and sister were three weeks old. The feral kittens born where we used to live usually didn't make it much longer than that and I adopted the babies. Within a few hours it was obvious that the little gray kitten was having syncopies (loss of consciousness, fainting), Our vet said she had a hole in her heart and shouldn't have survived as long as she did. Overnight I searched the internet and learned that some older cats had a heart condition that was treated with the human heart medicine. My vet didn't want me to hold out any hope for it helping her but he had a human pharmacy make up the med for her in a solution of fish oil. She had been having the syncopies about every two hours and once we started the medicine she stopped having them.

I named her Waddles because her condition caused her to be weak so she waddled. That weakness didn't last...she is a little dynamo and we have spoiled her rotten...she rules our life and thinks she is indestructible. She was on that medicine for several years until we did an ultra sound on her and it was determined that she probably didn't need it anymore. But three years ago her stomach started getting very hard and we did another ultra sound. Her entire torso is a tumor and the vet thought she would not live long. But she is still going strong and just passed her 10th year birthday. She is only 4 lbs because her heart situation never let her grow bigger (her body knew she needed to stay small). We monitor her closely and she gets a special steroid/B12/other stuff shot every 4-5 weeks. She has no idea that she isn't perfect. Our goal for her and all our animals is quality of life and so far she has had that in the extreme.

She has been an inspiration for me...I have my health problems and they can get me down but watching her excel in her little kitty life, despite difficulties that she adapts to as if they aren't there, gives me the boost I need to hang in there and not let things discourage me.



Waddles is cool and she knows it.
mar

2ndGenCPAPgal wrote:I was also a bit worried about my 4 cats but, like jdm, most of mine have shown no interest.

My "trouble maker" showed a bit of interest at first, but I had always enforced a "no cat zone" on my bedside table so I set up my CPAP and stood by waiting for him to show interest. As soon as he did, I made it immediately clear in my usual methods (a sharp "No" reinforced by a squirt of water if needed) that the "no cat zone" extended to the machine and hose. I still keep my squirt bottle close by but haven't needed it.

I have also not noticed any excessive hair/dander accumulation on the filters.

I must admit that I am a bit surprised that I am 5 weeks in and still on my first hose (watch them decide to be interested tonight ).

I think the noise from the machine and the air coming from my mask scare her, and since the two are connected, simple deduction that it's best not to mess with it. Also I keep te tube on top of my blanket when I'm using it, so she doesn't get interested in the "something moving under the blanket" concept.

robertmarilyn wrote:twokatmew,

I had been wanting to see the full picture of that icon so I'm glad you posted it. Very smart that your carpet matches your yellow cat.

Heheh. Actually the orange carpet was here when I moved in. I'd love to rip it up and refinish the oak floors underneath, but that's a project for down the road. I do think Boris believes he's invisible when lounging on the orange carpet though....

Robert and I have a very special cat that was born with a hole in her heart. ... <snip> ... She has been an inspiration for me...I have my health problems and they can get me down but watching her excel in her little kitty life, despite difficulties that she adapts to as if they aren't there, gives me the boost I need to hang in there and not let things discourage me.



Waddles is cool and she knows it.

Oh what a great story ... and cat! Waddles sounds like my second cat, Sadie. She had many, many health problems and lived to be 12. Waddles is very cute, too. I hope she continues to have a quality life for a long time. I sure know what you mean about her attitude being an inspiration.

BleepingBeauty wrote:

muse-Inc wrote: Really handsome cat BB! Yellow eyes yes?

My cat 'Cat' had yellow eyes when he was young. They have turned decidedly greenish as he ages (he's 14 now).

Wonder if the exhaust smells like you? Does he like other breezes or just the mask exhaust? The rubbing of his scent glands against the mask marks it as his and the mask is obviously a part of you. One of mine rubbed my face like that; afterwards, I scooted to the bathroom to wash my face (touchy skin but I couldn't deny her the right to mark her possession ). Luckily, she was careful not to rub her teeth on me!

Could very well be the reason, Muse. My cats have always marked me with face rubs like Turtle does. Sometimes, he mushes up against my hand so hard that his teeth DO scrape against me. But he's never broken the skin or anything. He loves me, and the feeling is mutual.

Lions are the grand champions in the cat world for 'rubbing'. If you ever see a video of two or more male lions rubbing each other, you will see them dig their feet in to push harder. Our lions, especially the males, like to rub me through the fence, and I scratch them back. Sometimes our big-maned Kenya will let me (maybe more like demand that I) scratch him for 10 minutes or more. I also know of two cases where a lion rubbing his favorite human has resulted in broken ribs!

I have also had a completely strange lion come up to a glass partition and attempt to rub me through the glass. This same (male) lion did this on two separate occasions on two separate days, on two different (and widely separated) pieces of glass. The rest of the lions present didn't do this. I guess he saw or sensed something in me he liked.

BleepingBeauty wrote:

muse-Inc wrote: Really handsome cat BB! Yellow eyes yes?

My cat 'Cat' had yellow eyes when he was young. They have turned decidedly greenish as he ages (he's 14 now).

muse-Inc wrote:Wonder if the exhaust smells like you? Does he like other breezes or just the mask exhaust? The rubbing of his scent glands against the mask marks it as his and the mask is obviously a part of you. One of mine rubbed my face like that; afterwards, I scooted to the bathroom to wash my face (touchy skin but I couldn't deny her the right to mark her possession ). Luckily, she was careful not to rub her teeth on me!

Could very well be the reason, Muse. My cats have always marked me with face rubs like Turtle does. Sometimes, he mushes up against my hand so hard that his teeth DO scrape against me. But he's never broken the skin or anything. He loves me, and the feeling is mutual.

Lions are the grand champions in the cat world for 'rubbing'. If you ever see a video of two or more male lions rubbing each other, you will see them dig their feet in to push harder. Our lions, especially the males, like to rub me through the fence, and I scratch them back. Sometimes our big-maned Kenya will let me (maybe more like demand that I) scratch him for 10 minutes or more. I also know of two cases where a lion rubbing his favorite human has resulted in broken ribs!

I have also had a completely strange lion come up to a glass partition and attempt to rub me through the glass. This same (male) lion did this on two separate occasions on two separate days, on two different (and widely separated) pieces of glass. The rest of the lions present didn't do this. I guess he saw or sensed something in me he liked.