Senior dog question

[kellie453]

I have a 17 year old mixed breed, 52 lb dog "Bob",  I will try to make this as short and to the point as possible.  Bob was diagnosised last year with a mass in his chest by his trachea, we did not have further testing done because of age.  The only way it was found is through X-ray when we took him in for a cough.  Evidently it is no cancer, thank goodness because nothing has changed as far as coughing or his weight.  He does however  have arthritis in his hips and is on Tramadol for pain and cough, 50mg, 3x a day (every 8 hrs) and we also give him glucosomine/chondro.  We have tried other  prescription medications for arthritis but nothing has helped so we have chosen to taken him off with vet approval.

We have had a very hot summer this year, so we have left our A/C on specifically for Bob as he can not take the heat and humidity.  He is only allowed outside to potty (when it is so hot) and then we have him walk the halls and such for exercise. Bob has appeared to be very hungry lately and since buying the Drinkwell water fountain he has been drinking tons of water and of course having to go potty more than usual.  Could his drinking of so much water be the newness of the water fountain?  We got it last week and he appears to love it.  I have looked up symptoms of diabetes and I am not too sure that is the issue.  He is not losing any weight or acting differently in any other way, urine is fairly clear and not sticky (he had an accident on the floor the other night).  He is what I call pacey (pacing the hallway) between the hours of 1:30pm and 7:00pm, however he has been doing this for several months.  Could this behavior  be from the heat and weather?  Bob does have a very thick multi-layered coat, I do brush him but can never get out all the loose fur.  When he comes in from outside I wipe his face with a real cool cloth along with the pads of his feet to cool him down.  I just hope that we are not missing something.  FYI, Bob only eats his homemade meals (cooked turkey, green beans and carrots along with multivitamin) and has been on this diet for over 9 years.

[lindapalm]

Your kitties are beautiful, you would never know their that old.  Bob looks like a very content senior citizen.  You have sacrificed for your pets, and they have repaid you back by living many years.  I would take a pet over a vacation to Hawaii any day, they bring so much into each day you have with them.

[kellie453]

I have posted pictures of our crew if you want to see them

[kellie453]

Well Pandy has been fighting this battle like I said for about a year. Our vet "thank goodness" only does housecalls so he was treating him with depo injections and amoxicillian until I realized that just was not working.  He scraped all the tartar off his teeth last visit, however that didnt really help for very long.  I took him to a local vet that specializes in dental problems and she prescribed doxicycline which helped him sooo much.  He was up in the morning before me meowing for food and would eat throughout the day for about 2 months (between treatments) on his own.  Pandy to this day, when his mouth is not fully inflammed, will eat a full 2-3 cans a day by himself...he has always been my "Big Eater", he even gained a pound or two since his last bad episode the winter (up to 8 lbs now).  Right now he probably needs to go back to the dental vet because his mouth is starting to become inflammed again, he is eating some cat food on his own and drinking some Clinicare and Cat Sure on his own but nothing like he was.  We talked to the vet last year about removing his teeth but the surgery was going to be over $500 which we just could not afford. As far as the canned cat food I have had two males develop stones/blockages over the years and what a horrible experience for the cats as well as us.  The vet cost was very expensive let alone the pain that my boys had to endure.  I admit that we sacrifice alot for our animals, we dont go on vacations, have fancy things or really have money to do too much other than take care of our furry kids and pay our bills.....but my husband and I are very happy with that as we really enjoy each and everyone of them.

[lindapalm]

It sounds like a restaurant in your house.  We have a lot of cats(,8 )and I know we should be giving them canned food, like you said, but it can be so expensive.  One of our cats had Stomatitis, and had all his teeth removed.  He's done really well, but I don't know how your 21 year old would do with such extensive surgery.

[kellie453]

Bob for the last 9 years has only eating my homemade diet of ground turkey (cooked), green beans and carrots with multi pet vitamin.. The cats were on Iams canned and dry until the recall several years ago, now they are on Science diet dry (which they get very limited amounts of) and cans of Friskies throughout the day, we go through over 60 cans a week with our entire crew.  I try to get all our males to eat mostly canned so urinary problems dont happen.  We treat them every so often with chicken breast meat cooked in the crock pot.  We are on a very limited income and my husband get laid off for the winter every year so we cant afford supposely "the best" out there. We do know that our Pandy (21 yr old feline) is on real borrowed time as he has been fighting Stomatitis for the past year.  I have to syringe him almost daily to make sure that he is getting the nutrients that he needs.  Seniors are sure a challenge....but what a reward!!!

[lindapalm]

I just curious, what do you feed your dogs and cats?  Its amazing how old your cats are, too.  You do a great job, keep up the good work.

[ginger899]

You know, some of those old fellas can still behave like pups when the mood takes them.....! (re: the water-fountain!)

[kellie453]

Thank you for your kind words!  We love each and everyone of our pets and there are a few.  We have a houseful of seniors: Bob, of course, then our felines: Pandy 21 yr old , Sassy 18 yrs old, Bruno 17 yrs old and Morgan which we are not sure of her exact age as she came to us a few yrs ago.  We lost our beloved Sadie which was 18 yrs old in May from kidney failure...we tried everything within reason and then I put her down before she got real bad.  That is just to name the oldest, yes we are major animal lovers and we have taken in a few "throw away" babies....after all they didnt ask to be born and tossed.  We try to give them the cleanest environment with the best care and love that we can.  FYI, Bob is slowing down on the water, I am thinking that is was the newness of the water fountain.  

[dominosarah]

I just wanted to say how lucky Bob is to have you.  What a wonderful caring pet owner you are.........sara

[kellie453]

No we have not tried the Rimadyl yet.  He was on the Deramaxx for about a year and it really did not help him at all so I took him off of it (with vets approval).  We are extremely fortunate that our boy is this age considering the vet told us his normal life expectancy was 12 yrs old.  Bob has been a major part of our family since he was 5 weeks old and when his time comes this family will be heartbroken even though we know it is coming eventually.  I will talk to our vet about the Rimadyl the next time he comes for check-ups on everyone...thank you for you reply.

[lindapalm]

I have no idea what could be wrong with Bob, but have you tried Rimadyl for his hips, it used to work very well for our dog when she had flare ups with arthritis.  You have done extremely well taking care of Bob, according to my charts he is 104.  Thats awesome.