Artie and his Issues

[Mamanyt1953]

May I ask what ails Artie?

Artie has long-standing IBD and, if I remember correctly, incipient (although not fully developed) megacolon. There is no cure for this, but thanks to a wonderful new vet (NVet), he is having far more good days than he was, and we are excited to see him happier for whatever time he can have with us. Thank you for caring.

 

[neely]

Does Artie know it's Labor Day coming up? That translates to Cindy, aka mom, gets a long weekend of rest.

 

[BestBabyC]

That's really good that he found such good care . And I'm glad he has good days and such a loving family.

I think my boy had IBD that turned into lymphoma . He is getting chemo right now at an awful vet but next week is taking him elsewhere

 

[tarasgirl06]

That's really good that he found such good care . And I'm glad he has good days and such a loving family.

I think my boy had IBD that turned into lymphoma . He is getting chemo right now at an awful vet but next week is taking him elsewhere

May you find a caring and expert vet for your beloved boy. *PRAYERS*

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

Cindy, is it possible the Lactulose could be compounded into a tasty treat? I've never heard of that being done, but since Artie is fighting it so badly, I'd check with the Vet and see. Otherwise, is there NOTHING else you can give him (a different laxative, perhaps in pill form) that might work? I'm sorry, I TRY to keep up with this thread, but don't get notifications since we went to the new platform, so may have missed something on this specific topic

 

[arouetta]

A compounding pharmacy might be your best bet.

I've heard cats can't taste sweet. But when I had to give Shadow something (maybe Benadryl?) she had a ton of foaming at the mouth and the vet said it was a reaction from the sweetener added in to get it down human children.

Chain pharmacies don't compound to the best of my knowledge, its the independent ones that do. Not every independent pharmacy compounds but they will know who does.

 

[LTS3]

artiemom Wedgewood Pharmacy has a lactulose chew treat just for pets: Lactulose Chew Treat, Wedgewood Pet Rx Ask NVet if this is something Artie can try if the 250 mg dose per treat is ok.

 

[tarasgirl06]

FYI for anyone interested, I just looked up lactulose for cats on Drs. Foster & Smith's website and this is what they have and say about it:
Lactulose (Generic)

 

[artiemom]

Thanks for the info... As far as the lactulose treats go.. Artie is so temperamental with food things. At one point, he would eat his dry food as if it were a treat. And then, he refuse it. Now with the dry food he has, he eats it as a food.. He does not play with it. He does not reach in, push it off and then eat.. He really its it.. strange cat..

Also, I cannot financially waste money for something which he will refuse and may cause more issues.

I am not certain if lactulose treats would be helpful. I am afraid of any change in his routine, right now. NVet is also extremely cautious about changing anything with his food or meds.

I had to ask NVet if he could have a tiny bit of tuna or salmon. He laughed, and said absolutely NOT.... nothing to change the status quo right now.....
I have not had any fish in the house for such a long time. Artie makes such a pain of himself when I did try having some tuna--- it was not worth the effort. I had to scoff the food down with one hand, while pushing him away with the other hand. Artie would literally jump on top of me, put his face in the dish, put his face in my fork, his paw would also be doing the same. I have to constantly push him away.

Yesterday, it hit me that my apartment looks like a cat sanctuary, and I have only one cat!!
That is really bad....
pet covers on the lift recliner, and sofa; toys on the floor, scratching posts, food, medicine, puppy pad, a pillow bed, a quilt tent, 2 litter boxes, a liter genie, cat trees, now boxes for steps, cat carrier... man... I could start a shelter in this place...

This is one very spoiled cat. Of course, the main items were accumulated when I was working and had a good income.. I leave the carrier out so Artie does not freak out when he sees it come out of the closet. This way, it is also a 'sometimes' hiding spot for him.

 

[tarasgirl06]

Thanks for the info... As far as the lactulose treats go.. Artie is so temperamental with food things. At one point, he would eat his dry food as if it were a treat. And then, he refuse it. Now with the dry food he has, he eats it as a food.. He does not play with it. He does not reach in, push it off and then eat.. He really its it.. strange cat..

Also, I cannot financially waste money for something which he will refuse and may cause more issues.

I am not certain if lactulose treats would be helpful. I am afraid of any change in his routine, right now. NVet is also extremely cautious about changing anything with his food or meds.

I had to ask NVet if he could have a tiny bit of tuna or salmon. He laughed, and said absolutely NOT.... nothing to change the status quo right now.....
I have not had any fish in the house for such a long time. Artie makes such a pain of himself when I did try having some tuna--- it was not worth the effort. I had to scoff the food down with one hand, while pushing him away with the other hand. Artie would literally jump on top of me, put his face in the dish, put his face in my fork, his paw would also be doing the same. I have to constantly push him away.

Yesterday, it hit me that my apartment looks like a cat sanctuary, and I have only one cat!!
That is really bad....
pet covers on the lift recliner, and sofa; toys on the floor, scratching posts, food, medicine, puppy pad, a pillow bed, a quilt tent, 2 litter boxes, a liter genie, cat trees, now boxes for steps, cat carrier... man... I could start a shelter in this place...

This is one very spoiled cat. Of course, the main items were accumulated when I was working and had a good income.. I leave the carrier out so Artie does not freak out when he sees it come out of the closet. This way, it is also a 'sometimes' hiding spot for him.

I can see NVet's logic there, and between the THREE of you, you all know best

There is the same problem with tuna here. I have 3 wide stainless bowls and I put a little tuna juice or oil in each one so hopefully, each cat gets a little treat. They do howl for it! Elvis pounds out to the kitchen from wherever he may be when he knows there's tuna being opened.

Well, personally, I'd call that a GOOD house, because I want my home to be for all of my beloved family members. We have cat furniture, toys, scratchers and more, all over the house. Because we live here.

 

[artiemom]

Artie update:
Yesterday was a weird day for him.. He did not want to eat much.. either the were of dry.. even with the appetite med...All I can think is that the delivery I got from Chewy, litter, along with the makeshift stair boxes, king of confounded him. He did manage to eat more dry than wet--weird. and during the night, ate the 1/4 can of wet and just a little bit of dry..
weird.

He did poop twice.. one was 4.5 x 1 inch-soft, another was a soft serve which I managed to measure at 8 x 1/2 inch.. you would have thought he was empty and wanted to fill up...

He ate good this morning.. almost 1/3 of a can. No stool. He has been sleeping in the same position/spot for 4.5 hours... did not even move when I gave him his cisapride.. strange...

I did mange to get him to use his 'stair-box' to go up, but not to come down.. he insists on jumping.. sigh... more work is involved in this..

Since it is a long holiday week-end, the traffic will be horrendous. I plan to stay home. If I do go out, it will just be within my city..

Here is Artie's new stair-box:

 

[Mamanyt1953]

VERY nicely done! As much as they all love boxes, I'm not the least surprised that it was the first thing to be attempted. At least he's using it! And he'll know that he can use it for "down" as well when the leg is bothering him especially. That was the main idea, for him to have those options when he feels like he needs them. Like my walkers. I rarely use them in the house, because if I fall, there are lots of things to use to crawl up on, but they are there for when I need them, ie, outdoor trips where stuff to climb with may not be available.

 

[tarasgirl06]

Artie update:
Yesterday was a weird day for him.. He did not want to eat much.. either the were of dry.. even with the appetite med...All I can think is that the delivery I got from Chewy, litter, along with the makeshift stair boxes, king of confounded him. He did manage to eat more dry than wet--weird. and during the night, ate the 1/4 can of wet and just a little bit of dry..
weird.

He did poop twice.. one was 4.5 x 1 inch-soft, another was a soft serve which I managed to measure at 8 x 1/2 inch.. you would have thought he was empty and wanted to fill up...

He ate good this morning.. almost 1/3 of a can. No stool. He has been sleeping in the same position/spot for 4.5 hours... did not even move when I gave him his cisapride.. strange...

I did mange to get him to use his 'stair-box' to go up, but not to come down.. he insists on jumping.. sigh... more work is involved in this..

Since it is a long holiday week-end, the traffic will be horrendous. I plan to stay home. If I do go out, it will just be within my city..

Here is Artie's new stair-box:
View attachment 194389

Bravo! As they say, "Better to have it and not need it..." and it sounds like Artie's leg is not as sore, anyway. But nice to have it there for him!
Yeah, a Drs.FosterSmith delivery is a big event around here, so I can understand Artie wanting to just sit back and take it all in for awhile. He may be counting his blessings.

 

[rubysmama]

artiemom : Have you seen this thread?
Happy Ginger Cat Appreciation Day!

 

[artiemom]

artiemom : Have you seen this thread?
Happy Ginger Cat Appreciation Day!

Thanks, I missed it!!!

 

[Mamanyt1953]

Happy Belated Ginger Cat Day, Artie!

And LOOK what I found when I googled it, a HOST of cat holidays!
Cat Holidays - Forgotten Felines and Fidos, Inc.

 

[artiemom]

Cat Holidays - Forgotten Felines and Fidos, Inc.

 

[artiemom]

Artie is in a weird mood today.. a not eating mood.. sigh
He has eaten only 1/4 can of food today.. I do not know what is going on with him.

He did poop 5 1/2 inches this morning. He has been sleeping all day. He could be hurting, because we are getting the remnants of Harvey tomorrow.

Artie is using the stairs.. both up and down. I did put some stairs in front of his new sleeping chair. It was my dad's lift chair, which I am keeping. I have a nice soft fleece throw, folded on the seat, and a puppy pad on top for any accidents. He has taken to that chair for a few weeks... strange. He is refusing his pillow bed, which he used to love.

I think he is eating now, at least he went into the kitchen.

Artie also refuses to cuddle or to curl up on my bed...sigh..It is a love/hate relationship. I love his cuddling in bed...

 

[IndyJones]

Storms upset my guys and they go off their food a bit. I think it's because cats are far more in tune with things like the barometric pressure and weather fluctuations than we are - they can detect an earthquake far earlier than the most sophisticated seismographs- and if something changes the weather it can really throw them off.

 

[margd]

Snip
Artie also refuses to cuddle or to curl up on my bed...sigh..It is a love/hate relationship. I love his cuddling in bed...

No, it's a love/love relationship. There's no question that boy loves you. He's just doing his feline thing.

Paul has a nice bed that he used to sleep in all the time. Suddenly he wouldn't have anything to do with it. Yesterday, I was thinking of putting it away when suddenly there he was. Asleep in the bed.

Artie has done this before, hasn't he? He always comes back for cuddles and snuggles.