Returning to RV Travel With a Kitten After Shoulder Replacement

[garyb1st]

We have our very own

AH-64 attack helicopter. We had a little sit down discussion and agreed to never try that again.

We have the AH-64 type. Before bringing her in for her Rabies Vaccine, the doc said we needed to give her a sedative the night before. At a mere 7 1/2 lbs she is not one to fool with when scared or unhappy.

She is a 9 year old Tabby who was born with a sensitive stomach. Initially the Vet suggested a fish allergy. That's possible but she'll eat half of the other cats food which often contains fish and seems to be OK. We've tried every brand of food and it doesn't seem to matter. Other than throwing up once or twice a month since she was born, she's been a great cat.

 

[JudyJB]

I'm on the second day of my test camping run. Mostly, I have discovered things I need that I forgot, like a wall clock and some binoculars. Maggie was very unhappy riding in her carrier to get to this state park, but that was at least partly because we had to stop to get an RV water pump connection fixed. She was happy to be released and has checked out every single inch of this 32' motorhome. Not sure where she slept last night but I had two beds made up for her. I think she ended up at least part of the night on my driver's seat gel pad--never can predict cats.

One thing she is really liking is sitting places for all the windows so she can watch the local squirrels! Right now she is taking a nap on the dashboard wearing her collar!! I have tried it out on her at home for an hour each time, but this time was a lot easier. I had to take it off twice to adjust it even. Next step is the tiny harness I have for her. Hope it fits and does not require much adjusting, but I figured starting out with a collar was the best start.

However, I did have to change campsites, and getting her back into the carrier was exciting. I grabbed her and she put out all four paws to prevent fitting into the opening. I re-grabbed her, turned her upside down, and told her she was going into the carrier whether she liked it or not. This time I put her into the top instead of the end opening while she was upside down, and she went peaceably, as they used to say in the westerns.

 

[garyb1st]

I re-grabbed her, turned her upside down, and told her she was going into the carrier whether she liked it or not.

I tried that once. Always have an adequate supplies of disinfectant and bandages, just in case.

 

[JudyJB]

I tried that once. Always have an adequate supplies of disinfectant and bandages, just in case.

I know what you mean. My feet, ankles, and arms are mostly just healed from other events. But this time, she just stopped struggling and looked at me with that inscrutable cat look. Here she is napping on the dash.

 

[JudyJB]

Once I was able to stop sleeping in my recliner because of my surgery and huge sling contraption, I moved to my bed. Maggie at this point remembered her previous cat thing about chasing "mice," aka toes under the blanket. After a couple of nights when I got no sleep, a couple of weeks ago, i decided I would make new rules. One free bite or bite attempt her night, at which point I would tell her No loudly and spray her liberally. The second attempt would involve more No, and evicting her from my room and closing the door for at least several hours, possibly all night.

Surprisingly, that worked fairly well, and she obeyed a warning No for several nights. I did have one issue a couple of nights ago, but at least she seems to be considering her options a little better now. I live alone, so she has no one else to go to for toe game playing, which I think helps, and she does NOT like to be separated from me at all, so this is an extreme punishment for her. Fingers crossed.

 

[TheBar]

We have our very own


We have the AH-64 type. Before bringing her in for her Rabies Vaccine, the doc said we needed to give her a sedative the night before. At a mere 7 1/2 lbs she is not one to fool with when scared or unhappy.

She is a 9 year old Tabby who was born with a sensitive stomach. Initially the Vet suggested a fish allergy. That's possible but she'll eat half of the other cats food which often contains fish and seems to be OK. We've tried every brand of food and it doesn't seem to matter. Other than throwing up once or twice a month since she was born, she's been a great cat.

We had a calico cat which according to our vet are known for health problems including digestive problems. About age 8 she was way over weight from eating dry cat food but started having trouble keeping dry cat food down. And dry cat food caused her to drink too much water causing kidney damage.

Our elderly vet said dry cat food is the worst thing you can feed a cat. It is ok temporarily if you are out of town for a few days. Cats are designed to eat meat only and should not need much water. He said don't cheap out and buy wet pate cat food. Pate, not the kind with gravy in it. It is far superior nutritionally and easier to digest. By age 12 she couldn't keep regular canned cat food down and was losing weight. Of course she wouldn't touch the Science Diet brand sold by the vet. We never had a cat or dog that would touch that stinky stuff.

The vet said to try tuna sold for human consumption temporarily which worked for 2 years. But she was losing weight and the vet said was she was showing signs of vitamin deficiency. We tried several brands of vitamins but she couldn't keep them down. At age 14 I bought a can of every brand of canned food at Walmart and Petsmart.

Surprisingly Meow Mix shrimp in the plastic containers was the only thing she would eat and was able to keep down. She survived on it for 4 years. She lived to 3 months shy of age 18. She died of kidney failure caused by the dry cat food 10 years earlier. But we prolonged her life and health for many years.

Knowing how bad dry cat food is our current cat has only been fed Frisky's poultry pate for her entire 8 years. We've had a half dozen cats live to the age of 17 to 22 (before dry food) so we started this one out right. She still plays like a kitten and runs not walks everywhere she goes.

 

[UTTransplant]

I must disagree with dry cat food being bad for your cat. While a single vet might think so, veterinary colleges and the animal nutrition folks disagree. My vet agrees with the colleges, and we have been feeding dry food to cats for 40+ years. They all lived into their late teens, and one lived to 21! But dry food does require the cats to drink more water, and we have been using a fountain that filters the water before putting a small amount in the bowl. The cats love it!

And Judy, we have never crated our cats for travel in 20+ years of traveling with them. We also don’t let them sit by the windshield while driving, but it is one of their favorite places when stopped.

 

[Ex-Calif]

HI Judy. You're an inspiration!

Things sound great for you. You're the best judge of what you can handle.

As always if you need any assistance in the Florida area reach out, please.

It's nothing for me to cover north Florida down to Tampa and Daytona.

 

[IBTripping]

Oh, and I have a weak immune system from having Chronic Lymphatic Leukemia about 6 years ago. I am in a solid remission, but the targeted drug treatment damaged my immune system. Vet did say I could get cat tested for it, but I have not bothered yet. Been focusing on recovering from shoulder replacement, but I know I should follow up on this.

After 6 years, I'd say you are cured rather than in remission. Congrats.