Krista's Care

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daftcat75

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Is it my imagination that her coat feels silkier and healthier after only one half meal? How does she do that? It's like she sends all the raw goodness directly and immediately to her coat.
 

mrsgreenjeens

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I think it's your imagination :wink:

So what time is Krista's appointment today?
 
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daftcat75

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mrsgreenjeens mrsgreenjeens , do you think there's harm in doing her transdermal bupe dose on her neck since that's already shaved skin? I feel like that would certainly be easier than her ears which she folds down and gets squirmy about.
 
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daftcat75

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3 pm. Her bupe is likely wearing off about now and the vet would prefer I bupe her before the visit. Especially after how fussy she was at last visit.
 

mrsgreenjeens

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mrsgreenjeens mrsgreenjeens , do you think there's harm in doing her transdermal bupe dose on her neck since that's already shaved skin? I feel like that would certainly be easier than her ears which she folds down and gets squirmy about.
Gosh, I don't see why that would pose any problems, but I'm just not sure. Can you call your Vet's office and ask them at the front desk?
 
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daftcat75

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Gosh, I don't see why that would pose any problems, but I'm just not sure. Can you call your Vet's office and ask them at the front desk?
I'm trying. They are either short-staffed or it's a zoo right now because they're not answering. I've seen how chaotic that office can get so this is frustrating, but not surprising.
 

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Small victory. Well, HUGE victory in a small serving size.

I got her to eat approximately 3/4 of an oz (21 g) of homemade duck batch I had in the freezer from before her Christmas troubles started. For reference, I was feeding her 8 oz a day to put weight back on her and reverse skinny old cat syndrome. So you see, we still have a long ways to go. But at least I have something I can feed her.

For now.

Unfortunately, the little bit I have left in my freezer might not last the weekend and the raw feeders coop does not have these boneless duck patties right now. I will have to try my hand at a nano-batch (a meal or two) of rabbit or turkey. I need to spend some time this morning scaling the recipes down and figure out freeze-dried turkey liver amount because I don't have fresh or frozen turkey liver. And while I didn't write amounts, fortunately, I did write down the ingredients I included in this batch. That's a timesaver because she has rejected many recipes so it's good to know where we left off in building *her* recipe.
If it is only for this weekend, I wonder is it OK to give her just plain Rabbit raw or Turkey raw? I guess it is challenging to make micro batch. I usually make 3lb at one time, unless you have very good scale or tiny measuring spoon, it will be so hard to supplement small amount meat ... Just a thought.
 
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daftcat75

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Finally got a hold of someone at the vet's office. They must be short-staffed today because one of the Drs answered. He said, "I don't see why not. Go ahead and give that a try."

Finally, Krista catches a break!
:anticipation::petcat:
 
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daftcat75

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If it is only for this weekend, I wonder is it OK to give her just plain Rabbit raw or Turkey raw? I guess it is challenging to make micro batch. I usually make 3lb at one time, unless you have very good scale or tiny measuring spoon, it will be so hard to supplement small amount meat ... Just a thought.
The duck is already made. I have maybe half a dozen "ice cubes" left (about 10 g each.) I maybe have another batch of duck in the freezer but I'm not sure if it's the same batch.

I don't really know when we'll be able to address the teeth. I sure hope they don't try to deny her like last time because of her liver chemistry. I'm tired of her liver enzymes. I feel like we're chasing a ghost. She certainly would not do well with another round of antibiotics.

I've spent the morning trying to scale down recipes to 0.1 lbs (truly nano-batches) or 45 g. I don't want to burn an entire 1 lbs when I was barely able to get her to eat 20 g this morning.
 

mrsgreenjeens

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Yay! I had been googling like mad and did find that they are doing pain patches, which obviously require them to be stuck to their skin, which requires shaving! But patches have a different % of medication in them because of the way they dispense. I also read that the inner ear skin is used mainly because the skin there is thinner, so applying the transdermal gel elsewhere might not give her the same benefit. Guess you'll find out. Hopefully it'll work well :crossfingers:
 
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daftcat75

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My current nano-batch recipe

UNIT QUANTITY INGREDIENT
G 45 BONELESS MEAT
G 12 WATER
G 1.27 FREEZE DRIED TURKEY LIVER
G 1.36 FREEZE DRIED TURKEY HEART
G 1.7 EGG YOLK
G 0.3 SEAWEED CALCIUM SUPPLEMENT
MG 100 FISH OIL

The fish oil will have to be a guess but I have a good scale (goes out to hundredths) for the rest. I used the math on Raw Feeding For IBD Cats to convert fresh to freeze-dried equivalent amounts, and the USDA nutrient database for the weight of an egg yolk. It's missing E and iodine but I don't think those can be scaled down this far. I think those are safe to skip for a few days to a week until we figure out if it's dental and can be fixed (extracted.)
 

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My current nano-batch recipe

UNIT QUANTITY INGREDIENT
G 45 BONELESS MEAT
G 12 WATER
G 1.27 FREEZE DRIED TURKEY LIVER
G 1.36 FREEZE DRIED TURKEY HEART
G 1.7 EGG YOLK
G 0.3 SEAWEED CALCIUM SUPPLEMENT
MG 100 FISH OIL

The fish oil will have to be a guess but I have a good scale (goes out to hundredths) for the rest. I used the math on Raw Feeding For IBD Cats to convert fresh to freeze-dried equivalent amounts, and the USDA nutrient database for the weight of an egg yolk. It's missing E and iodine but I don't think those can be scaled down this far. I think those are safe to skip for a few days to a week until we figure out if it's dental and can be fixed (extracted.)
:rock: Krista is lucky girl to have such a math-savvy Daddy :cheerleader:
 
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daftcat75

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I use Google calculator to convert everything to weights in grams and put the formulas into a Recipes tab in her food journal Google Sheet.
 
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daftcat75

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I’m waiting in the exam room while Krista is giving them hell in the back. She used to be such a well-behaved cat at the vet. I think she’s just finally had enough of Drs. She sounds so miserable and angry right now and I’m two rooms away. I hope we don’t have a poop repeat.
 
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daftcat75

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Not a happy Krista. Want an idea of how much pain she’s in? Those fish flakes have been there since we got here. If I can’t get her to eat fish flakes, I don’t know what hope I have for other food. It’s a shame she doesn’t have her feeding tube anymore.
365CD735-DB45-498D-B2B4-4667B6504A38.jpeg
 

CHIKITTIES

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:grouphug: she does look uncomfortable ... does she normally eat fish flake at Vet office? I am just wondering it is not 100% pain, part of it is stress, and she may be able to eat once you to go home.

:vibes::vibes::vibes: to Krista! Go home, relax, and eat yummy food Dad made for you with :heartshape:
 
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daftcat75

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The subq fluids have her looking much more comfortable but still no flakes.

She’ll eat fish flakes in the car, at the vet, on a box, in a boat with a fox... I actually shovel them into her at the vet to keep her relaxed. So that she didn’t touch the car portion and didn’t care about the scale portion (I put flakes on the baby scale at the vet to keep her on the scale long enough for a reading) then her mouth is really bothering her. I *think* I saw an incisor out of place. But she’s not really letting me in her mouth and those things are really tiny anyway. We have a Tuesday appointment. We will be trying the bag n gag again tonight because I don’t think she’ll lick up enough nutrition between now and then.
 

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Aaawwww!! I really do hope you and the Vets can help her feel better soon. My cat, Kelsie had 1/2 of her teeth removed a few years ago (when she was still living at the Cat Shelter and not with me). She moved in with me and was doing great. Then...….barely eating. Took her to the Vets and turns out the other 1/2 of her teeth were bad. She got them extracted the next day. But truly, it took several months before she had a good comfort level going on. Her poor gums were so mangled from the previous surgery, as there were still chunks of teeth left in her gums (which caused painful inflammation ). The new Vet removed those teeth chunks, along with the remaining bad teeth. But like I said, it took several months until I could feel she was eating a healthy amount again. Today, she only eats "soupy" canned food (pate-style food). Which is ok with me. She is happy and has her energy back. Their energy levels can drop really low, when they are trying to heal. All that normal energy is channeled into the healing process...… Wishing you both, ALL the best!! You are a great Kitty Dad!!
 
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daftcat75

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We literally just did her teeth. That was what started this whole thread. She broke a tooth on Christmas. I fed her whatever junk she would eat and caused enough carryover inflammation in her to throw her liver levels off.

I told her Dr I don’t even care what the liver levels say. We’ll test them for sure because it would be irresponsible to sedate her without knowing her liver condition. But I’m also done chasing ghosts. We need to fix her mouth again or we’ll have to put the tube back in her and I don’t want to do that.

I gave her another bupe when we got home. There must have been just enough overlap from the afternoon that she found enough relief to eat another half oz. So we’re maybe 1.5 oz on the day. I’ve busted out the tiki tuna mousse toppers again because tuna water isn’t cutting it anymore. I wish the Velvet Mousse agreed with her better. I’d just feed her that until Tuesday. But it also doesn’t have enough calories.

I wonder if I can cut the duck Rawz with duck fat rather than water to keep the calories high. Because the biggest problem I have with syringe feeding/tube feeding is that by the time you finish cutting it to a consistency that will push through, it’s also so dilute that it hardly seems worth the effort.

I’m going to have to use hunger to my favor. See if I can wait her out and get three by one ounce meals per day. It’s not enough but maybe it will be enough to get her to Tuesday. 4 oz is 3% bodyweight. Before her teeth troubles started over Christmas, she was eating 8 oz of raw (mostly Rad Cat) a day to put weight back on. Before the antibiotics last week, we were going through a can of Rawz in 12 hours. That’s not to say she was eating 11 oz a day. I didn’t always pick up a clean plate and there was a lapse between cans. But I still think we were at about 8 oz a day.

So you see how heartbreaking it is to see that she’s already lost almost half a pound since we started the antibiotics (and now the mystery mouth ailment) and we’re going to struggle mightily to get up to 3 or 4 oz over the next few days. And then there could be another few more difficult days depending on recovery time.
 
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daftcat75

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Return of the souper pooper! Ugh! I was just praising her for her perfect poop while cleaning the box and, "what are you doing over there? Oh Krista! Gross! Now you have to scoot too?" I didn't know she still had a soup to poop. I don't think she knew either. Today I learned that poop, even soupy poop, cleans easier than barf and pee. But the smell! I am all out of baking soda so that's where my (outside) morning begins.

No more Tiki Cat mousse toppers! We have confirmation that it wasn't just the salmon flavor. Mousse goes in, mousse comes out. I think I can now definitively put xanthum gum on her no-fly list.

And now the good news! Her love of tuna, the Pure Bites tuna shreds in water right now, is apparently greater than her mouth pain. She just soldiered through a plate of it despite all the wincing. I will pick up some more PureBites and Tiki Cat Tuna With Pumpkin. I don't care that it's low calories or fish. Low calories of a less than ideal protein is better than no calories of a more ideal protein.

I love bupe'ing her punk rock shaved neck. So much easier than the ear!
:anticipation::petcat::purr:
I'll just keep the bupe and the tuna flowing and we may yet make it to Tuesday (and beyond!)
:clapcat:
She seems in better spirits today. The B-12 and the subq fluids have perked her up, and taken much of the stink out of her face.
:dancingblackcat:
Off to get baking soda!
:whiskers:
 
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