Am I overreacting?

[Twylasmom]

Hi
Just a thought --and I apologize if this has been mentioned up-thread, but do you use Cat Music for them?

I don’t. My experience is that they mostly sleep all day when I’m not home. Butter - Twyla says yum! Hooper turned up his nose at both the laxatone and the butter. Everyone has kept their afternoon and evening meals down, so fingers crossed and hopefully we can get reset over the weekend.

 

[Furballsmom]

It was this

If they do, I guess it could be attributed to stress

.. .. that caused me to think about the Cat Music. You might try it, there's Relaxmycat .com, Musicforcats. .com and harp music for cats on Spotify and elsewhere. There's cat music with purrs in it too

 

[Twylasmom]

Aside from a single hairball yesterday there has been no regurgitation from either cat since Friday. So we seem to be back on track.

 

[Furballsmom]

That's great news!

 

[Twylasmom]

Twyla had her 3 month checkup today. It was quite good! Kidney values were not checked (except for SDMA, but that doesn’t tell us much at this point) but her T4 was. It is sitting at 3.4, exactly where it was three months ago! So we are sticking with the 1/4 pill once a day regimen. Her weight was 11.4 pounds, which is stable, her hydration was good and her heart rate was normal. She also got her first Solensia injection for her arthritis, so I may be able to start phasing out her daily gabapentin if she responds well. The vet also said I could trial reducing use of her asthma inhaler to every other day or just a couple of times a week, since she hasn’t had my asthma symptoms in over a year. The vet was supportive of my medication and diet routines for Twyla.

She does need a dental, though. Lots of tartar and possibly a couple of extractions. I am a bit hesitant because of the sedation risks and stress on the organs, especially for a senior cat with only one good kidney. We did talk over risks and possible ways to minimize them. I need time to think about this and may wait until after her next checkup in March. Does anyone have any advice or thoughts on this? I’m sure she has some discomfort while eating. I may start a different thread on that topic.

Here is a belated Christmas greeting from Twyla and Hooper to celebrate the good report!

 

[Twylasmom]

Twyla’s appetite is really low today, only wanting treats and baby food. I’m hoping it’s just because of the vet visit and perhaps a bit of a reaction to the Solensia? I gave her mirtz about an hour ago (a couple days early) and may give Cerenia a couple of days in a row, since she might be a bit nauseated. She ate OK yesterday. This is her first off day in months. Drat!

 

[Twylasmom]

Doing much better today. Back on track with eating and attitude.

 

[Twylasmom]

Twyla’s appetite has been less than stellar for the past week or so. I have had to go from giving her Mirataz (half dose) once every 5 or 6 days to every 3 or even every other. I’m at almost 3 months on this tube so wonder if it is losing effectiveness, though I used the previous tube almost 4 months with no problem. Her reaction to it has become much less dramatic in terms of appetite and food seeking behavior. I’m thinking either nausea or teeth pain. She regurgitated breakfast yesterday for the first time in weeks. I had been cutting back on her gabapentin as a trial since she is now on Solensia for her arthritis but am going back to her regular dose. I am also going to go to Cerenia every day for a few days to see if that helps. Her attitude is mostly good and she is social, snuggly and playful.

I may have to consider a dental sooner rather than later. I am pretty sure she is having discomfort in that area And she seems to favor one side when eating. No changes in food - she has been eating her renal dry, low phosphorus Hill’s Tender Tuna and Tender Chicken and a couple of Weruva BFFs (always her least favorite), along with a variety of toppers - temptation purées, freeze dried chicken or regular temptations. Baby food to supplement on days where she totally skips a meal or doesn’t meet her calorie target.

She has been doing so well for months - this shift has really upped my anxiety. Her second Solensia shot is next week so I will get a Mirataz refill even though I have a a half a tube left.

 

[FeebysOwner]

I use one tube for 60 days or so before replacing it, but someone on another site said they go as long as 5 months with one tube of Mirataz and don't see a difference in the effectiveness. I have found that the best dosage regimen for Feeby is half-dose every other day. If I go any longer it seems like it doesn't help as much. But, then again, every cat is different.

 

[Twylasmom]

She got a dose 8 hours ago and should be ravenous by now, given past experience. She asked for food but only ate about a teaspoon of non prescription dry (she refused her renal dry) and maybe 1/4 of a pouch of tender chicken. She would normally polish off 1/2 pouch in one go on a dosing day, but today I had to pile it up 3 times for her to eat half that amount.

I gave in and gave her half a can of Fancy Feast this morning and she did eat 90% of that so I am suspecting food aversion due to mild nausea, boredom with her food choices and/or lowered efficacy of the Mirataz. I am also down to the bottom of the bag on her renal food so I will probably toss it and start a fresh bag. Hooper thinks it is perfectly fine but of course he isn’t allowed to eat it.

Teeth are probably a factor in there somewhere. Thankfully no sign of throwing up yet today and litter box output looks fine. I will probably go to every other day dosing until I can get a Mirataz refill next week. I also picked up some Sheba pates as an incentive to eat, though the phosphorus level isn’t great.

She doesn’t seem to having any abdominal pain as she is flat on her back on my lap asking for belly rubs!

 

[Twylasmom]

I don’t think she is feeling well. She ate good overnight but had a soft smelly poop this morning and just doesn’t seem to be her normal self. She sniffed and refused a Temptation treat a little bit ago. This is about the time she gets her midday meal but I’m holding off on that for now. She isn’t hiding and is still being social and curious, just not as bright. I don’t know if it’s because she ate a different food yesterday or what. She is getting her subqs later today so hopefully that will perk her up. I’m at a bit of a loss trying to figure out what’s going on.

 

[Twylasmom]

Got her subqs, no interest in her dinner but ate a Temptation purée. She had a higher dose of Cerenia this morning and I wonder if that is contributing to her inappetance and being kind of subdued? If she doesn’t eat by bedtime I may go ahead and mirtz her then. It would be over 36 hours since her last dose. I’m worried about my girl. She has an appointment on Thursday for her Solensia but if this continues I will call and see if they can have an actual appointment to check her out.

 

[FeebysOwner]

I think that it doesn't seem uncommon for ups and downs to happen a lot. And it is always hard to tell if there is something that you could do differently to change that. I am at the point with Feeby that I pretty much wait out the crummy days, even those when the Mirataz doesn't seem to be as effective. I do contribute that to her off days of varying foods, since I do give her a whole host of different ones to keep her eating. There is a limit of what Mirataz can do. Can't remember, have you tried ondansetron instead of Cerenia?

Nonetheless, I am not sure it is possible to figure out every time what exactly is going on. It seems to be an ebb and flow, and as long as the ebbs are followed, fairly quickly, by the flows, you kind of have to 'ride with tide'.

 

[Twylasmom]

I think that it doesn't seem uncommon for ups and downs to happen a lot. And it is always hard to tell if there is something that you could do differently to change that. I am at the point with Feeby that I pretty much wait out the crummy days, even those when the Mirataz doesn't seem to be as effective. I do contribute that to her off days of varying foods, since I do give her a whole host of different ones to keep her eating. There is a limit of what Mirataz can do. Can't remember, have you tried ondansetron instead of Cerenia?

Nonetheless, I am not sure it is possible to figure out every time what exactly is going on. It seems to be an ebb and flow, and as long as the ebbs are followed, fairly quickly, by the flows, you kind of have to 'ride with tide'.

I haven’t tried ondansetron yet. Nausea hasn’t been much of a problem, nor has vomiting, and she has only been getting 4mg of Cerenia every other day. It is good advice to try and ride out the ups and downs - I tend to obsess. Twyla has had about 5 months of real stability and the past few days have me in catastrophizing mode.

I’m starting to second guess the value of Solensia in her regimen. I can’t tell if it is helping much and if she would be better off with one less medication.

Edited to add: she got Mirataz about an hour ago and is already eating a little. Fingers crossed!

 

[FeebysOwner]

I haven’t tried ondansetron yet. Nausea hasn’t been much of a problem, nor has vomiting, and she has only been getting 4mg of Cerenia every other day. It is good advice to try and ride out the ups and downs - I tend to obsess. Twyla has had about 5 months of real stability and the past few days have me in catastrophizing mode. I’m starting to second guess the value of Solensia in her regimen. I can’t tell if it is helping much and if she would be better off with one less medication.

You have one up on me if you can tell for sure if/when Twlya is nauseated! I have no idea with Feeby, so she gets ondansetron - when I can get her to take it - just in case.

I know Feeby started to move about better with Solensia. That doesn't change the fact that she still lays around and sleeps a lot - but she is moving about better when she does move, and it is more often than before. If you don't see a difference, the maybe it is not for Twyla.

Hang in there - that is what I am trying to do!!

 

[Twylasmom]

You have one up on me if you can tell for sure if/when Twlya is nauseated! I have no idea with Feeby, so she gets ondansetron - when I can get her to take it - just in case.

I know Feeby started to move about better with Solensia. That doesn't change the fact that she still lays around and sleeps a lot - but she is moving about better when she does move, and it is more often than before. If you don't see a difference, the maybe it is not for Twyla.

Hang in there - that is what I am trying to do!!

All we can do is the best we can do! I broke down and gave Twyla some Sheba pate late tonight and she ate a whole serving. Don’t love the phosphorus level for her but at least she ate. If I have to add it to her rotation I do have aluminum hydroxide on hand, but I hope she will go back to her lower phos foods.

 

[Twylasmom]

Twyla ate well overnight (I didn’t even mind that she pawed at my head to wake me up!) and this morning. She is a grazer so multiple small meals work best. I found a 3 oz. can of Hills 7+ savory chicken in my stash and she ate the whole half can I gave her, as well as her overnight dry mixed with the temptation purée. The savory chicken has a nice smooth texture so very easy to eat and is lower in phos than the Weruva she has turned against. Could be a good addition to her food rotation if this wasn’t just a fluke.

What a rollercoaster this is.

 

[Twylasmom]

Twyla has been doing great this week. Eating really well with Mirataz every third day. She has been loving the Royal Canin aging loaf.
I hope I didn’t inadvertently create an aversion to it this morning, though. She ate at 6:45 this morning and I took her to the vet at 9 for her Solensia injection. On the way home she got carsick and barfed all over her carrier. Since this was just a quick visit I didn’t give her gabapentin and I forgot to give her Cerenia to prevent motion sickness as I usually do. I did give it to her when we got home so hopefully that will clear up any residual nausea.

They did weigh her today and she is holding steady at 11.25 pounds, so that’s good.

 

[BoaztheAdventureCat]

For the past few days Twyla (age 14ish) has been picky about her food, only eating a little bit or just walking away altogether. When she eats dry (only given in small amounts) she has regurgitated it a couple of times. Upon weighing she has lost about 4-6 ounces since her routine check up a month ago. She has also urinated twice outside the litter box in the past 10 days (which she has never done). I went ahead and scheduled a vet visit for Thursday to get a full blood panel done as she also had a high SDMA at her last visit.

Of course tonight she polished off her dinner and is currently chasing her brother around the house! She doesn’t seem to be in any discomfort and was stretched out napping belly up on my lap earlier.

Would you still keep the appointment? My inclination is yes (even though she is very uncooperative when it comes to blood draws).

Yeah, keep the vet appointment. If there is an issue, better to catch it now than later when it would cost you even more to treat.

 

[Twylasmom]

Twyla is pretty smart. Every night at 7 I talk to my 86 year old dad on the phone and then give Twyla meds and a treat right after. Tonight someone called me about 6:20 and once I got off the phone she started bugging me and pawing at me from the back of the couch because she thought it was time for meds. So I went ahead and gave them to her and am now sitting here in peace. She has recovered well from her traumatic morning.