Krista's Care

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daftcat75

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I called Wedgewood. I had questions. They had answers.

I was concerned about compliance with liquid medicine. I was told the medicine is not especially bitter and that my idea of obtaining a stronger concentration in order to give a smaller amount is a sound one and one that I'm told a lot of pet owners opt for. Her dose will be 2 mg. I will ask the vet to request a 20mg/ml concentration. We'll only need 0.2 ml in that case. That is an amount I can squirt into her mouth easily enough if she won't take it in a medicine meal.

My single remaining concern is that she may have an issue with the salmon in the triple fish (tuna, salmon, and anchovy) flavoring. But since the amount of flavoring is so small, the dose is only twice a week, and the drug itself is meant to suppress the immune system and its "allergic" reactions, it may not be that big an issue. (I don't know if her issue with salmon rises to the level of an allergy. I do know that chicken and salmon were the proteins she ate the most before her IBD and the salmon flavor of Tiki Cat would come back up.

I don't want to delay any further. I'll call the vet's office this morning and ask them to put in a prescription for 1 or 2 mL of 20 mg/mL triple fish chlorambucil oral oil suspension. I will dose her on Sundays and Wednesdays. Those days she will get a small medicine meal of Tiki Cat Ahi Tuna--just enough to hide a "not especially bitter" medicine.

I usually like to taste her liquid medicines to know what I'm asking her to take. But I know that would be a big no-no with this drug.
 
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tarasgirl06

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I called Wedgewood. I had questions. They had answers.

I was concerned about compliance with liquid medicine. I was told the medicine is not especially bitter and that my idea of obtaining a stronger concentration in order to give a smaller amount is a sound one and one that I'm told a lot of pet owners opt for. Her dose will be 2 mg. I will ask the vet to request a 20mg/ml concentration. We'll only need 0.2 ml in that case. That is an amount I can squirt into her mouth easily enough if she won't take it in a medicine meal.

My single remaining concern is that she may have an issue with the salmon in the triple fish (tuna, salmon, and anchovy) flavoring. But since the amount of flavoring is so small, the dose is only twice a week, and the drug itself is meant to suppress the immune system and its "allergic" reactions, it may not be that big an issue. (I don't know if her issue with salmon rises to the level of an allergy. I do know that chicken and salmon were the proteins she ate the most before her IBD and the salmon flavor of Tiki Cat would come back up.

I don't want to delay any further. I'll call the vet's office this morning and ask them to put in a prescription for 1 or 2 mL of 20 mg/mL triple fish chlorambucil oral oil suspension. I will dose her on Sundays and Wednesdays. Those days she will get a small medicine meal of Tiki Cat Ahi Tuna--just enough to hide a "not especially bitter" medicine.

I usually like to taste her liquid medicines to know what I'm asking her to take. But I know that would be a big no-no with this drug.
We know that cats' sense of taste is quite a bit different from ours, though, and that they reportedly don't taste "sweet" so "bitter" might not be as bad for them as it is for some of us.
Salmon is a very fatty, rich fish and we sometimes have the same problem with it here. Occasionally, but not always, in my Tarifa, who's 16 going on 17. Once she bolted some (they all love it) and presented it right back, almost volcanically. The food is very dark reddish in color, and so I was terrified when I saw it on the carpet!!! but she's fine -- it was just snork-and-return, sadly.
I'm the same way with phone calls (except for social ones) and I have the same regret, frequently, for procrastinating when I should just take that bull by the horns and DEAL. Calling tech support is like torture for me, which is why I am my own tech support in most cases. But there are other issues that must be dealt with that can't be dealt with online via website or chat. Those are the ones I loathe. But I'm having to do several right now, and so far, not as bad as I thought.
 

daftcat75

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9am poop in pudding. She had one really good poop. Then a forceful pudding fart for the rest. Still better than a multi box (and carpet) affair.

...

On further consideration, why challenge her if I don’t have to? Another fish flavor option is anchovy. I’m not sure if she likes anchovies. So I’m at Safeway this morning looking for anchovies in water (she doesn’t need any more oil/fat.). If she approves of anchovy, that’s what we’ll go with.
 

tarasgirl06

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9am poop in pudding. She had one really good poop. Then a forceful pudding fart for the rest. Still better than a multi box (and carpet) affair.

...

On further consideration, why challenge her if I don’t have to? Another fish flavor option is anchovy. I’m not sure if she likes anchovies. So I’m at Safeway this morning looking for anchovies in water (she doesn’t need any more oil/fat.). If she approves of anchovy, that’s what we’ll go with.
Poor Krista! She must be sore from all that!
 

daftcat75

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I gave her a couple of bites of anchovy rinsed off. I got a resounding yes out of her. That she is now doing her furry cockroach number on the countertop looking for more or anything that may have come in contact with such a delicacy tells me that we have found the winning flavor for her medicine. Because I'm so phone averse, I will drop in on my vet's office in person tomorrow to make certain there are no issues or confusions. Or lengthy holds.

Sadly, all the anchovies at the store were packed in oil with salt (hence the rinsing.) So as much as she loved it, I don't know that I can feed her anymore from that tin.
 

tarasgirl06

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I gave her a couple of bites of anchovy rinsed off. I got a resounding yes out of her. That she is now doing her furry cockroach number on the countertop looking for more or anything that may have come in contact with such a delicacy tells me that we have found the winning flavor for her medicine. Because I'm so phone averse, I will drop in on my vet's office in person tomorrow to make certain there are no issues or confusions. Or lengthy holds.

Sadly, all the anchovies at the store were packed in oil with salt (hence the rinsing.) So as much as she loved it, I don't know that I can feed her anymore from that tin.
There are a lot of listings for anchovies in water on google; most do have salt, unfortunately. Wondering about sardines, too?
 

daftcat75

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Solid poop! 💩👍

Not enough though. A few thin poop pinkies.

She will likely still have a blowout later. Hopefully not so bad though since some (small) volume will have been removed.
 

daftcat75

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She wasn’t eating the pred halves in yeast bites. After she managed to eat three or four bites while spitting out the pill half, we had to change strategy. I tossed both halves down the sink and pilled her a whole one like we used to.

I wrote out all the information for Krista’s Chlorambucil prescription (oral oil suspension, anchovy flavor, 20 mg/mL preferred, the phone number and hours for Wedgewood, etc) and dropped it off at the vet.

I keep forgetting to pick up a new bottle of B12. I will call about that and pick some up tomorrow hopefully. Or Monday.
 

daftcat75

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I wonder if cutting the pred in half for her has been reducing the delivery or efficacy somehow.

She’s a lot more vocal, active, and perky tonight like when we first started pred than she has been in awhile. Since I started cutting it in half for her.

Then again. She did gnaw on the halves before spitting them out. She might have got a larger dose tonight.

I guess there’s one way to verify this hypothesis...

Sorry girl. The wrestling matches will resume for a few days. 🤦🏼‍♂️😿
 

daftcat75

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Another solid poop! Thicker poop fingers. Not quite thumbs. And still a little too pale.

And just as I thought we might be in the clear, I come out to her squatting. I managed to round her up into poop jail where she left a buried blowout in a second box.

And then. 🤢🤮

I think when she has too much poop, that’s what happens. Thankfully that was also contained on the laminate in poop jail. One of the good pee pads cleaned that off the floor right quick. And we survived another double ended blowout.

I’m thinking the psyllium is doing good work. We’ll stay at this level a few more days to be sure she’s okay. Then we’ll add a little more. The thought here being that maybe we can get her poop pinkies to poop thumbs and have her pooping slightly more often so she’s not having forceful blowouts.

I’m calling the butcher later today. I think it will be better to increase her rabbit raw than introduce a new variable, a different protein. Besides. I can’t feed her the canned turkey (too high fat) if she decides she doesn’t want rabbit anymore.

Almost time for first breakfast.
 

daftcat75

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Her pale poops and continued blowouts have encouraged me to try the Optagest packets I picked up the other weekend for her. I added a pinch (1/16th tsp) into second breakfast and will add another pinch into second dinner. Only after I've seen how she feels afterwards and what her next poop looks like will I consider sprinkling it into all her canned portions throughout the day.
🤞
 

tarasgirl06

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Another solid poop! Thicker poop fingers. Not quite thumbs. And still a little too pale.

And just as I thought we might be in the clear, I come out to her squatting. I managed to round her up into poop jail where she left a buried blowout in a second box.

And then. 🤢🤮

I think when she has too much poop, that’s what happens. Thankfully that was also contained on the laminate in poop jail. One of the good pee pads cleaned that off the floor right quick. And we survived another double ended blowout.

I’m thinking the psyllium is doing good work. We’ll stay at this level a few more days to be sure she’s okay. Then we’ll add a little more. The thought here being that maybe we can get her poop pinkies to poop thumbs and have her pooping slightly more often so she’s not having forceful blowouts.

I’m calling the butcher later today. I think it will be better to increase her rabbit raw than introduce a new variable, a different protein. Besides. I can’t feed her the canned turkey (too high fat) if she decides she doesn’t want rabbit anymore.

Almost time for first breakfast.
Hoping for a good day for you both!
 

daftcat75

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I sucked it up and made some phone calls this morning.

Phone call 1:
Wedgewood website lists an antibiotic, chloramphenicol, alongside the chlorambucil in the only formulation I wanted for Krista. Customer service rep was being difficult. He was saying he couldn't answer my question or transfer me to a pharmacist without a prescription on file. I told him that was bonkers because I can't request the Dr call in the Rx until I could get a confirmation that the formulation I would have her request was correct for Krista. I could feel my anger rising at how unhelpful he was being and I think he finally saw some sense in the situation. He said I couldn't speak to the pharmacist without a prescription but that he could place me on hold and ask the pharmacist himself. Why couldn't he do that from the outset? "Please hold. Let me ask the pharmacist." How much more difficult and tense he needlessly made that call! Yes, I can get the chlorambucil formulated without the chloramphenicol. He was unsympathetic about the confusion the website was causing and didn't even pull it up himself to confirm that. I hope that call was recorded for quality and training purposes.

Phone call 2:
Called the vet and asked for a bottle of B12. The office manager said the chlorambucil prescription was called in at the strength I requested but the dose will be half what I listed. I freaked out for a minute thinking she was undercutting the agreed upon dose until I realized it was my mistake. If I wanted to give 0.2, I should have requested a 10 mg/mL strength. I'll stay with the more concentrated form in case medicine meals don't work out and this has to be administered orally. The B12 will be ready for me to pick up this morning whenever I can get down there.

Phone call 3:
Called the butcher. He took down my name and phone number and a request for 8 legs (enough to make two batches.) He said they are currently out of rabbits and not sure when they will be available again. Someone will call me when they can fill that order. Looks like I probably will make another batch from whole fryers next weekend. I portioned out to 18 or 20 baggies last weekend. She gets about 1 baggie per day. So not quite a 3 week supply. Maybe I can process the rabbits next weekend but wait until we're closer to "empty" before I do the final grind and mix. I still have at least a week's worth of the last batch that Krista is no longer interested in.

Phone call 4:
Wedgewood called me saying my prescription was ready to be filled. For 5 mL at a 20 mg/ml, 50 doses came out to about $50 or $1/dose. Can't really beat that. I mean the pred has that beat. But the pred isn't compounded. The compounding takes time and I won't get the medicine for about week and a half. Mar 3 is what they estimated. I'm having that delivered to the vet's office. UPS always treats their business customers better than residential. I (likely) won't have to worry about a missed delivery exception with medicine that requires refrigeration when sent to the vet.

And I'm done for the morning. I'll feed Krista again in an hour and then off to pick up her B-12.
 

tarasgirl06

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I sucked it up and made some phone calls this morning.

Phone call 1:
Wedgewood website lists an antibiotic, chloramphenicol, alongside the chlorambucil in the only formulation I wanted for Krista. Customer service rep was being difficult. He was saying he couldn't answer my question or transfer me to a pharmacist without a prescription on file. I told him that was bonkers because I can't request the Dr call in the Rx until I could get a confirmation that the formulation I would have her request was correct for Krista. I could feel my anger rising at how unhelpful he was being and I think he finally saw some sense in the situation. He said I couldn't speak to the pharmacist without a prescription but that he could place me on hold and ask the pharmacist himself. Why couldn't he do that from the outset? "Please hold. Let me ask the pharmacist." How much more difficult and tense he needlessly made that call! Yes, I can get the chlorambucil formulated without the chloramphenicol. He was unsympathetic about the confusion the website was causing and didn't even pull it up himself to confirm that. I hope that call was recorded for quality and training purposes.

Phone call 2:
Called the vet and asked for a bottle of B12. The office manager said the chlorambucil prescription was called in at the strength I requested but the dose will be half what I listed. I freaked out for a minute thinking she was undercutting the agreed upon dose until I realized it was my mistake. If I wanted to give 0.2, I should have requested a 10 mg/mL strength. I'll stay with the more concentrated form in case medicine meals don't work out and this has to be administered orally. The B12 will be ready for me to pick up this morning whenever I can get down there.

Phone call 3:
Called the butcher. He took down my name and phone number and a request for 8 legs (enough to make two batches.) He said they are currently out of rabbits and not sure when they will be available again. Someone will call me when they can fill that order. Looks like I probably will make another batch from whole fryers next weekend. I portioned out to 18 or 20 baggies last weekend. She gets about 1 baggie per day. So not quite a 3 week supply. Maybe I can process the rabbits next weekend but wait until we're closer to "empty" before I do the final grind and mix. I still have at least a week's worth of the last batch that Krista is no longer interested in.

Phone call 4:
Wedgewood called me saying my prescription was ready to be filled. For 5 mL at a 20 mg/ml, 50 doses came out to about $50 or $1/dose. Can't really beat that. I mean the pred has that beat. But the pred isn't compounded. The compounding takes time and I won't get the medicine for about week and a half. Mar 3 is what they estimated. I'm having that delivered to the vet's office. UPS always treats their business customers better than residential. I (likely) won't have to worry about a missed delivery exception with medicine that requires refrigeration when sent to the vet.

And I'm done for the morning. I'll feed Krista again in an hour and then off to pick up her B-12.
I know! Why do bureaucracies have to make EVERYTHING 10x as difficult, frustrating and stressful as it needs to be? Not saying the vet is a bureaucracy, exactly, but the mentality seems to have trickled down and permeated most walks of business life here. And it's getting worse IMHO!
That's true here with UPS too. We often get deliveries late--REALLY late-- in the day, like after dark, when I'm cooking or even eating dinner. *sigh* At least they usually deliver inside the back gate, though, as I've requested. I guess we have to be thankful for every positive, however much it comes with negatives...
 

daftcat75

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I picked up the B12. Came home and poked the cat. I’m out of practice. Sadly I think she’s wearing more of that dose than went in her. She enjoyed her raw reward all the same and we can try again next week.
 

daftcat75

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We’ll be going back to the yeast bites tomorrow. We’re both so bad at pilling that I will also ask the vet to call in a prescription for transdermal pred. Looks like she’ll be on this for awhile.
 

daftcat75

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I’m glad we finally agree on the watering hole. After all that money I spent on fountains and filters! 🤦🏼‍♂️😹
4ED56239-1E22-44A5-AF80-F37CD5678C70.jpeg
It’s a wide mouth Mason Jar that I was drinking water from on the nightstand. She started climbing up to the nightstand to drink from it. Now it’s on one of her Katris pieces that was cat steps. Now it’s her nightstand! 😆

I have been topping it off with Brita filter water. Tonight I finally remembered to buy her a bottle of spring water and change out the whole jar. There were food bits at the bottom of the jar! 🙊 I gave it a good washing and rinsing. Then filled it back up with spring water. 🍾😻

A lot of things are challenging with her. But sometimes she throws me an easy one.
⚾
And baseball is back!
 

MissClouseau

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I’m glad we finally agree on the watering hole. After all that money I spent on fountains and filters! 🤦🏼‍♂️😹
I applaud Krista for her drinking from somewhere at least! Couple weeks ago, two different days, I offered Hima my own mug of water after seeing Krista drinks that. Hima did investigate, pawed the water a bit but of course still didn't drink. 🤦‍♀️

She also drank from her fountain only the first two days. Good thing I'm still paying for it :runaround:
 

daftcat75

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I applaud Krista for her drinking from somewhere at least! Couple weeks ago, two different days, I offered Hima my own mug of water after seeing Krista drinks that. Hima did investigate, pawed the water a bit but of course still didn't drink. 🤦‍♀️

She also drank from her fountain only the first two days. Good thing I'm still paying for it :runaround:
I think it’s the pred that has her drinking. Before the pred, the only time I saw her drinking is if she threw up, she usually went towards the toilet. I don’t let her do it. But she would drink from the toilet if I did. When she heads towards the toilet and the closed lid, I take her cue and bring a bowl of fresh filtered water to wherever she wants to take it. Now it is refreshingly easy that all I need to do is remember to buy her a new bottle of water as often as I can remember it, always top it off, and wash the jar at least once a week.
 
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