Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Half-baked Butchie?

So I got a big pointy tetanus shot and two antibiotics for The Butchie Bite. Vitamin N said it still looks swollen but the doctor didn’t, and besides, I have a fairly squishy forehead to begin with. So I will probably be ok. I am to call if there’s swelling or pain up there, duh.

Anyway, I think Butchie’s losing it.

I mean, it’s not like I’d smeared tuna juice and cheddar cheese on my forehead. I was minding my own beeswax. And I can’t have a biter around. What if he bites my family or friends? Niecey or Neph? Me, again? On my freakin’ face? That would be terrible. So I read up on Alzheimer’s in cats, and recent history shows Butchie does have several of these symptoms: acting disoriented, changes in social relationships, changes in sleep habits, inappropriate vocalizing, forgetting commands, breaking housetraining, pacing, wandering, sluggishness, food issues, decreased grooming, and confusion. And I thought some of it was because of his cataract!

Did you know that half of all cats over age 15 show signs of senility? These symptoms are for ooold cats (I consider 12.5 to be “getting older”, not “ooold” just yet), and he’s never had great grooming to begin with… Twinkie had been coming around and washing his face and ears for him since they were babies. And it’s Discovery, which I trust, not some random bullshit “cat fact” website with cutesy-poo pictures and no actual research.

So hopefully it was an isolated incident. But what if I have to put him down? Like I said, I simply can't have a biter around. The thought of it breaks my heart! I’m going to call the vet today and ask if I should be worried. I expect the 400 bucks I spent there a month ago entitles me to ask a follow-up question…

4 comments:

Paula said...

Oh, I hope you don't have to face that decision yet. But it's good you're thinking about this just in case. I agree you can't have a biter around. :(

The Clever Cat said...

Thanks, Paula. We seem to be learning more than we ever wanted to know about dementia, yes? :^(

Paula said...

Tiki's always been demented, but she wouldn't hurt a person, just herself by being scared/dumb.

The Clever Cat said...

Remember Big Moose from Archie? That's kinda what Butch is like. Big, cute, easygoing, affectionate, and pretty dumb.