Happy 15th Birthday to my stunning seal mitted Ragdoll cat, Charlie!
As I sit down to write this, I just finished giving Charlie sub q fluids, and I think about how much has changed since his last birthday. Really though, much has changed since late May/early June, when my other Ragdoll cat, Trigg, got sick and died.
Around the same time, I found out about how sick Trigg was. The vet phoned me a few days later to let me know that Charlie’s kidney values had progressed—they had been in stage 1 or a questionable raw-fed diet stage (BUN can be higher when you are a raw-fed cat). I am unsure which “stage” he is in now, as my vet never likes to “diagnose” that – she much believes it depends on the cat.
And she doesn’t like me to worry about those things – she’d rather I focus on the clinical cat. In fact, I was surprised that his values increased as much as they did because he had been eating and acting well. Given his values, our vet suggested I start giving Charlie fluids twice weekly.
I didn’t start anything until after Trigg died – I couldn’t handle anything more.
While Trigg was dying (which I didn’t know was happening – I say that in hindsight), Charlie only swatted him once; the animal communicator had warned me that might happen – that sometimes, when one cat is sick, the healthier cat may attack them. And Charlie did – but only in the form of a swat. Besides that, he was entirely respectful of Trigg and usually sat with him wherever he was.
I learned a lot about Charlie through Trigg’s dying process and, of course, after that. I didn’t know how very much Charlie liked Trigg. I knew he loved him, but I didn’t know how much he liked him. Often, it was Trigg who approached Charlie, not the other way around. So when Trigg was finally gone, Charlie went into a depression and a grief stage. It was tough to see him mourn while navigating my grief. We both still have bouts of it, too – and I would guess that will continue for a bit longer.
Once Trigg was gone and our flea problem under control (yes, the day after the night I put Trigg down, I discovered Charlie had fleas), I started to think about giving Charlie fluids.
When Charlie was younger, we were going to a different vet (I went to the same vet for almost 12 years – and I switched in 2020 to a new vet because I wanted to be more holistic in my approach with my cats. I needed a veterinarian who was aligned with that). And Charlie needed fluids for something – he went nuts and almost always turned into Chuckie, his alter ego, at the vet.
It was terrifying, and having had three kidney cats and knowing 85% of cats die of kidney failure, I figured there was a good chance it was in my future. I just hoped it wouldn’t be with Charlie because I didn’t think it would be possible to give him fluids. I asked our vet then, “What happens when you cannot give a kidney cat fluids?” She said, “I had one like that, and they just die sooner.” I was fully prepared for that when I first found out that Charlie had kidney markers.
So after Trigg was gone, and we still potentially had fleas, I asked my mom to come pick Charlie and I up in her car – I knew Charlie was flea free, but didn’t think that my car was. So, she came to pick us up, and the vet would see us as a walk-in for fluids.
We waited patiently in the car (waiting in the waiting room at the vet pisses off Charlie), and the vet tech came to get him. She was gone with him for a while and eventually brought him back out. I thought for sure he’d gotten fluids because they’d been gone so long; however, as she handed him to me, she said, “He wouldn’t let me do it.” And this was a VERY experienced vet tech that’s been doing it for like 15 years.
You can imagine my feeling knowing we made all that effort in the summer heat, and he didn’t get fluids. I was so excited for him to have the fluids, too, given what he’d been through with Trigg and the fleas—no doubt he wasn’t eating, etc., like normal.
Our vet, who was out of the office on the day that happened, told me to come the next day, and she would try. So I did, and we got it done! It was nothing short of a miracle because it was pretty darn easy! Our current vet has never needed to “sedate” Charlie to draw blood or examine him, whereas our old vet always REQUIRED he be on a small dose of Gabapentin.
I asked if we could return in 2 days to get more fluids. She was okay with that, and we did. That time, we screwed up 4x – poked him 4x, and he was relatively compliant for being poked 4x. I couldn’t believe it.
Please know, however, that none of it would have been possible if Pam of Perfectly Holistic hadn’t gotten his Feline Hyperesthesia Syndrome under control two years ago.
I remember when Dr. Sally saw Charlie after we had worked with Pam diligently to get him better. Dr. Sally said, “He’s like a different cat.” And I replied, “Yes, his body is no longer on fire, so he is not bothered by every little thing that touches him.”
That’s why he was able to handle the four pokes. If we hadn’t done the work with Pam, I don’t think he would have allowed even one poke.
On my drive home from Dr. Sally’s 2nd set of fluids, I thought, “Man, I’ve gotta try this at home to see if I can do it by myself.” The first cat I gave fluids to by myself was Caymus – my sister Amy had bravely done it by herself, so I knew I had to try the same. I did fluids on my parents’ cats, Caymus and Murphy, and my Rags, Trigg, Hobbs, and Maddie (my Aunt Jean’s Ragdolls), so I am an experienced fluid giver.
So, I decided to get the courage up and try it. The first poke went through like an ear piercing. The second one was perfect, but then Charlie bolted away, so it came out. I had to pierce him one more time, and we got it. He stayed, and I got the fluids in. I almost held my breath while they were running. However, I learned a long time ago from a veterinary acupuncturist that you never want to hold your breath with a cat because that’s the only time she got bitten.
It felt like I held my breath, but I didn’t do that on purpose. Once we were done with the fluids, I cheered and clapped my hands, kissed him, and hugged him. He was excited because he knew I was excited. Then I picked him up and started crying, saying, “We can do this, Woo!”
The thought of hauling him back and forth to the vet for fluids – a procedure that takes less than half the time to drive to the vet, was overwhelming. And I know that fluids can and will get to the point where they need them daily, so I just didn’t know if I could do it that way forever. And my caregiver fatigue is out of this world right now, so I didn’t want one more thing to do.
I have continued fluids at home. Overall, he’s still doing well with it – there has been one Chuckie appearance. That’s more of my fault, though – I should have paid more attention to where he was in his day (he wasn’t willing to stay put). He has also bolted away from the line a few times, causing the needle to fall out, but I don’t want to re-poke him, so he gets a bit less. I still cannot believe I am giving Charlie: 1. fluids, 2. by myself. BLOWS MY MIND.
I told Charlie several weeks ago, “Bub, it started with you and me, and now it’s just you and me again.”
If you believe in manifesting what you want, it worked for me getting my Charlie. The first Ragdoll in our family, and the reason I wanted one for myself, was Halston, a seal mitted with a blaze Ragdoll cat. I always wanted a seal mitted with a blaze because of Halston.Â
When I started Floppycats and knew I wouldn’t have my Rags much longer, I had a vision board. I put a cat that looked almost exactly like Charlie on that vision board. Before Rags died, I had a consolidated list of breeders I knew who were still breeding cats related to Rags. One of those was Soulmate Ragdolls in North Carolina.
About 5 months after Rags died, I was in Albuquerque, New Mexico, looking through the available kittens on that consolidated breeders’ list – I just went to each of their websites to see if they had listed something new.Â
The first photo of Charlie I ever saw on Soulmate Ragdolls’ website.
I wasn’t ready for kittens. But that night, staring back at me was “Casey” – which was Charlie. It’s funny because “Casey” sounds aloud like “KC” (Kansas City), which is where I am from. Although I wasn’t ready for a kitten, I knew he was supposed to be mine. He was perfect…and had a perfect hourglass blaze.
I still cannot believe I lucked out with a seal mitted with a perfect blaze. He was like a needle in a haystack and just sitting cute as a button on Soulmates’ website years and years ago.
Charlie has been one of my greatest teachers. When he had his active hyperesthesia, I thought for sure the only way for it to stop was for him to die – I wouldn’t have put him to sleep. I just thought there was no way he would ever get better.
But a friend encouraged me (after I had spent thousands and gone to several veterinarians) to try Pam of Purrrfectly Holistic. And I watched as Charlie’s little body healed from the damage I had done feeding him dry kibble (why he has kidney disease), giving him too many topical flea medications, giving him too many vaccines, and living in a toxic environment with too many harsh chemicals and fragrances. While Charlie’s not perfect, given the kidney situation now, how much he has turned around is remarkable. I cannot thank Pam enough for the cat I have now vs. the one I had then.
Speaking of surprises with Charlie, his willingness to eat raw is amazing. I also got help from Pam to get my cats to eat raw – and I was very proud when they transitioned. I am still crazy proud. I CANNOT BELIEVE Charlie eats raw. I cannot, even though I serve it to him. I have had to switch him to eggshell instead of bone. Eggshell is made of calcium carbonate, whereas bone is made of calcium phosphate – and phosphorus is a problem for kidney cats, so limiting or eliminating bone is best. Lucky for me, he loves this new boneless recipe I am following. But he will only really eat pork – he tells the animal communicator that it digests easily for him. This August will mark two years since Charlie has been raw-fed. Crazy.
Charlie is one of those pets with F.A.D – also known as flea allergy dermatitis. It is MISERABLE. Even if they don’t stay on him – if a flea bites him, it’s all downhill. He scratches, itches, and licks like a crazy man. The head tremor he got from topical flea medications comes back, and it’s a living hell for us both – although probably more just for me.
On top of trying to manage Charlie’s crazy response to the flea bites, you must keep up with vacuuming, cleaning, etc., so that the flea population does not increase.  I have learned a lot from our summers with fleas – and their magnetism to Charlie. I released a free series on natural flea control because of it. If Charlie gets a flea (one flea), I know pretty quickly now and have an entire plan to take action to get it off of him and get them out of my house. It’s not a fun process, but it’s more methodical, organized, and effective than a year ago.
Charlie is a very outgoing cat but has been more subdued since Trigg died. He sleeps in spots where he cannot hear everything in the house.
I am working on new supplements with him to support his immune system after the fleas – and also for his kidneys. I am seeing some positive changes, and I hope those continue.
Charlie has been instrumental in my Floppycats’ business. He usually saves the day when it comes to me getting footage of him using a product (which is really necessary when reviewing a product—but it is not always the easiest thing to have your camera ready the instant they are using it. Cat scratchers are the hardest!). Anyway, even at almost 15, he knocked this one out of the park for me this year, and I am grateful.
I have learned a lot from Charlie in the last two years. I have learned a lot about what makes kitties sick, what makes them stronger, what products we can give to help them, what tests we can do to get them better, what we can feed that will give them optimal health, and so much more. I am very grateful for that. I am sorry that Charlie has gone through what he has gone through because of my ignorance. I hope the life lessons I have learned can help many other Floppycatters and many more of my cats.
I wish I could surprise Charlie with his Chiggy for his birthday—I can’t imagine how surprised he’d be.
I have no idea how much longer Charlie has—and I honestly never thought Trigg wouldn’t be celebrating his 15th birthday—so you never, ever know. But after what I’ve gone through with Caymus, Murphy, and Trigg, I have decided to focus on quality with Charlie, not quantity.
Happy 15th Birthday, my beautiful boy! I hope you have many, many more birthdays.
Hi, I’m Jenny Dean, creator of Floppycats! Ever since my Aunt got the first Ragdoll cat in our family, I have loved the breed. Inspired by my childhood Ragdoll cat, Rags, I created Floppycats to connect, share and inspire other Ragdoll cat lovers around the world,
