But recently he started losing more weight than the doc was comfortable with so I needed to address that.
His cat food has been upped to the point where he gets at least twice what the other cats do, and his reward for his Monday vet trip has become a stop at McDonald's on the way home to pick up a cheeseburger which he loves. Giving him a quarter tablet of an appetite stimulant in the morning is a regular thing, and a package of hot dogs in the fridge are there just for Riley. He gets to lick the ice cream bowl and anything that has contained some kind of cheese product. He is enjoying his old age! One of the last visits to the vet - they had to feel his belly to make sure he wasn't constipated - he had gained so much weight! You wouldn't know to look at him probably, he's still a skinny old guy, but not like before. He still tends to look rumpled and and squinty and disgruntled a lot of the time ...
And his Yoda ears crack me up.
He has to be on my lap all the time ..
.. and if I'm not petting him, he's asking why!
He stalks me while I'm eating ..
.. and sometimes helps himself when I'm not looking!
 |
| Wheat Thins! |
He enjoys his Monday cheeseburgers ..
... and synchronise sleeps with Norah.
Sometimes he shares space with Abby ...
.. sort of.
Mostly - he's as happy as a crabby ol' man cat can be these days!
.. and since we lost Jake - I can't help but give Riley as much attention as I reasonably can. And what's a few cheeseburgers between friends, anyway?
Oh dear! I see I have competition in the "handsome" department! He reminds "her" of Coltrane (a current resident) and one "she" rescued who went to live with Grammie. His name was Purrsir and he too was orange tabby. No white but lived a long and enjoyable life minus the cheeseburgers. Although I am only 10 or 11, I think purrhaps I should show this post to "her" so as to purrpare "her" for my coming of age and the cheeseburger rights that accompany it. After all, age should count for something right?!? And I bet if humans could reach the ripe old age of 140, they'd be a bit more than cranky ;)
ReplyDeletePurrs,
Romeo
Welcome, Romeo! Yours is my first ever cat comment!
DeleteOh yes, by all means push the cheeseburger angle. I mean - you get to a certain age and cholesterol and weight are no longer a concern anyway, right? There have to be some perks!
Now I know what they mean by "The Life of Riley" Keep him fat and sassy if you can. 1/4 pounder with cheese might do it little chocolate shake.
ReplyDeleteI did give him a quarter pounder once, seems the cheeseburger is just the right size. :)
DeleteHe looks great for his age.
ReplyDeleteI'll tell him you said so! :)
DeleteHe is amazing just to be 20!
ReplyDeleteI know, right? I kill houseplants but I do pretty well with cats!
DeleteI've had one cat that made it to age 20 -- Sheba. She was a fat cat all the way to the end.
ReplyDeleteRiley is still a handsome gentleman -- in my eyes, anyway.
Perhaps you'd like to see photos of the cats that my husband and I share living quarters with? Cameo (Scroll down a bit at the foregoing link) does bear a resemblance to your Nora. Dusti is no longer with us, but we now have Mysti, Cameo, and Amber.
I forgot to mention that our Amber -- we call her "Ambi" -- does bear a resemblance to your Abby. Well, except that our Amber is of a decidedly Oriental build.
ReplyDeleteI looked at your pics. Can't help but love those fur-babies, can we?
DeleteI'm trying Lady B, I'm trying!
ReplyDeleteBettteJo,
ReplyDeleteThank you for looking at the picture of my kitties and for taking time to leave comments. That site is on comment moderation because of trolls. **sigh**
My Dusti has been gone almost a year now. I'm still grieving. In many ways, Dusti was my "heart cat."
One reason that we got Amber less than a month later was that Cameo was grieving over the loss of Dusti. The few weeks before Dusti became critical, Cameo, who had never before slept with Dusti, stayed by Dusti's side 24/7. Cameo now thinks that Amber is her kitten and dotes on her!