This is our little Bartleby, so named because he preferred not to do much of anything. Bartleby is a purebred Scottish fold...hence his ears. We picked him up at Noah north of Everett after falling in love with his face. But the truth is, Bartleby can't do much of anything, though not likely out of choice. Perhaps it is his breed or perhaps out of pure luck, but our little B has the worst case of arthritis our Vet has ever seen, so much so that she can't even determine his real age. Purebreds do have more genetic defects than the mixes, and just as Tyson likely had PRA (Progressive Retinal Atrophy), so Bartleby is subjected to the pain of arthritis.
When we got B we had no idea what was ailing him, just that he sat funny, walked funny and crackled a bit from time. The visit to the doctor proved to be heartbreaking. Bartleby's X-rays showed that every single bone in his body is deformed with arthritis save for his shoulders and hips. No affected bone is determinable by shape and size, but seems to be melding into its neighbor. As such, he is on a regimen of Prednisolone and Buprenorphine to manage the pain. That pain is something B has learned to deal with for many years that we have not known, but only he and his previous owners--who abandoned him. That Bartleby still kneads when he is happy is an indication that he is doing well.
The disconcerting part of all of this is that B is likely going to have kidney failure before his arthritis is ever so bad that we will have to make a difficult decision.
So, what do owners do for their pets? It was suggested that we maintain a heating pad for him to help alleviate pain. We are to seek acupuncture if necessary. We massage and help groom. And we keep a fresh water supply for him readily available.
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