Old friends need each other

Last week I had the privilege of meeting an elderly lady who really brightened my day. For the purpose of this story, I will call her "Edna." Edna was brought in by her daughter, who informed me that Edna was 98 years old! Although Edna had some trouble hearing and was moving slowly, she obviously was still very "spunky" and we had a great conversation and some great laughs. She reminded me very much of my grandmother who was mentally very sharp until just before colon cancer claimed her several years ago.
Unfortunately, the reason for Edna's visit had her extremely distressed. Edna had lived in assisted living facilities for seven years with her "best friend" Missy. I know that Missy is her best friend because Edna told me so. Missy is an 11-year-old calico cat. Other than some tartar and gum inflammation, Missy appeared to be the picture of health.
Edna was very distressed because she had been told she could no longer have Missy live with her. Apparently while Edna was sleeping, a nurse attendant was in her apartment and noticed the cat had vomited and thought she saw worms in the vomit. The nurse told her supervisor and the supervisor told Edna's daughter she had two days to get the cat moved out. Edna's daughter had to tell her mother the bad news. This raised a couple questions in my mind.
Why didn't the nurse or supervisor tell Edna directly? The short time I got to know Edna, I had no doubt she could have been told about the situation and clearly understood it. I think at 98 years old she should have at least been given enough respect to have had the situation discussed with her directly. Edna was very upset that those involved went directly to her daughter.
Another question involved those "worms" found in the vomit. What kind of "worms" would a cat have that had been completely indoors for years? If only there was someone the nurse or supervisor could have called to find out. How about taking the "worms" to some sort of expert to be identified, especially if there was a question that they were a human health concern? Well, it was too late for that because they had been thrown in the trash. All it would have taken was one call to a veterinarian to get some information about the "worms." I don't think that would have been too much to ask before telling the supervisor, who told the daughter, who told Edna she had to get rid of her best friend. If there truly were worms in the vomit, they most likely would have been tapeworms and they are completely NOT transferrable directly to people from cats.
Usually in these situations there is more to the story. So I called the supervisor at the assisted living facility to try to get more information. She informed me that the "worms" were not the only reason for the decision. There had been sanitation issues concerning the cat before this "worm" episode. Apparently, Edna was cleaning up after the cat in her apartment by putting feces and dirty litter into the trash without closing it up. So when others would come into her apartment to empty her trash, they could smell it. While unpleasant, that doesn't seem to be a sanitation issue. A sanitation issue would be if there was a litter box full of feces or feces and urine on the floor.
In addition, if this really was a problem it should have been brought to the attention of Edna or her daughter. So I called Edna's daughter to tell her about this conversation with the supervisor. She told me she only knew of one instance where there was a problem. She also told me that she visited her mother almost every day and always checked the litter while she was there. She never had found more than one bowel movement and one wet area from a recent urination. It sounds to me like Edna was doing a pretty good job caring for her best friend.
Edna's daughter told me currently Missy was still at the assisted living facility with Edna and the supervisor was going to talk to the nurse and make a final decision. I hope she makes the right decision. It would be hard for an 11-year-old cat to adapt to a new home, but it would be even harder for a 98-year-old sweet lady to be without her best friend.
Dr. Chad Higgins is a 1989 graduate of Purdue School of Veterinary Medicine. He has owned Amanda Animal Hospital for the past 11 years.