Artie and his Issues

[artiemom]

Listening to music a lot today.. aggravated, tired, and such.. confused...

Artie is Artie.. I gave him 3 cc of lactulose, about an hour ago. I gave a tiny bit at a time.. still, he was refusing to swallow it~~ spilling out the sides of his mouth..
Lucky if I got 2 out of 3 cc in him...

I turned around to wash my hands. I was wiping them, and heard him do the Vomit Hacking!! OMG... yup, it all came up... I honestly do not know what to do..
About to give up.. but he needs it..

Mixing the lactulose with his food could potentially create an issue we do not want: Food Aversion.. He is on his last possible food... which he is still eating..

I am waiting, because I am late on his dose of cisapride.. sigh..

I just want to take a nap.. and run away.. not a good day...

 

[tarasgirl06]

Listening to music a lot today.. aggravated, tired, and such.. confused...

Artie is Artie.. I gave him 3 cc of lactulose, about an hour ago. I gave a tiny bit at a time.. still, he was refusing to swallow it~~ spilling out the sides of his mouth..
Lucky if I got 2 out of 3 cc in him...

I turned around to wash my hands. I was wiping them, and heard him do the Vomit Hacking!! OMG... yup, it all came up... I honestly do not know what to do..
About to give up.. but he needs it..

Mixing the lactulose with his food could potentially create an issue we do not want: Food Aversion.. He is on his last possible food... which he is still eating..

I am waiting, because I am late on his dose of cisapride.. sigh..

I just want to take a nap.. and run away.. not a good day...

Well, we all have those days. For me, it's been a week of "those days" with several friends, human and feline, having pretty serious health issues I just found out about. Add to that the hot weather and it has not been a great week.
Artie has his days, too, doesn't he? You're so right about not giving him any excuse to turn his nose up at his foods. As long as you get SOME lactulose into him, I'd say that's enough for today and maybe tomorrow will be a better day for you both. Hope his cisapride went in okay and STAYED in.
Hope you can find a good movie to watch together or read a good book that makes you feel happier. And before you know it, Sunday will be history and there'll be a whole new week to look forward to.

 

[nansiludie]

Could you possibly mix his dose of lactulose with just a little bit of tuna water to make it a little more palatable? Also I've found if you give 1 cc at a time of liquid medication and then rub their nose or mouth/throat until they swallow, some are persistent not to, it goes down a little easier.

 

[artiemom]

Artie took the 2nd dose of lactulose, much better... still fighting, but better..

He ate well during the night: 1/3 can and 1/3 cup of dry. He woke me up, because he wanted to look outside.

I do not know why, but my body is telling me it is a sleep day. I actually felt not so good yesterday. I think I am staying in, except for the Periodontist appointment.

Artie and I will, hopefully have a lazy day.

 

[Antonio65]

Mixing the lactulose with his food could potentially create an issue we do not want: Food Aversion.. He is on his last possible food... which he is still eating..

You're right! Should Artie associate the lactulose and the food, he could refuse his food for good.
It was the solution I tried several times with Lola, 2 cc in her canned food, she would eat it no problem...

I can understand Artie not cooperating today... it's Monday for him too

 

[Mamanyt1953]

Sorry, I didn't get the joke
Since dufferent countries could have different rules, I thought that in US they were allowed to do minor treatments.
Although I'd rather be treated by a vet than by a human doctor!

I love my vet! He could treat me any time if it were allowed!

OH, ARTIE! Take the danged Lactulose and be done with it! I PROMISE you will actually feel much, much better for it!
Here we go again...


That third one on the sea shell is responsible for getting liquids into cats, and she is a bit snarky! Don't want me to sic her on you!

 

[tarasgirl06]

Artie took the 2nd dose of lactulose, much better... still fighting, but better..

He ate well during the night: 1/3 can and 1/3 cup of dry. He woke me up, because he wanted to look outside.

I do not know why, but my body is telling me it is a sleep day. I actually felt not so good yesterday. I think I am staying in, except for the Periodontist appointment.

Artie and I will, hopefully have a lazy day.

We all have our days of feeling crappy, don't we? Hope you are both feeling better today and that Artie man is being very cooperative, knowing he is being given the best of care and lots of love!

 

[Mamanyt1953]

HUGS to Our Boy and his devoted companion!

 

[artiemom]

Artie update;
Something is going on with him. I cannot put my finger on it.. He seems a bit nervous, not eating all that well, and kind of lethargic.. although he had the zoomies for 10 minutes yesterday morning.

He has cut down on his food intake, over the past 6 weeks or so. I weighed him yesterday: 9.9 lbs.. that is down form his usually weight. He has been at 9.9 for a couple weeks.. He is usually at 10.1 - 10.3 lbs

He is sleeping a lot, not cuddling as much.. I know with the time change, and all the renovation noise; it could have effected him..but..the past few days have been quiet...
so I do not know..

I gave him a dose of cyproheptadine yesterday. It took a while to kick in, but he did eat good. He did not poop yesterday, but woke me up early, to do so this morning:
6.5 x 1.. a bit dry.

The cypro had him eat one full can and 1/2 cup of dry. That is what he should be eating.

I cannot tell if his tummy is bothering him or not. He is in a semi-meatloaf position, quite a bit. Artie is only getting in about half of the dose I give him of Lactulose. It ends up on him, on me, on the towel, on the chair, on the floor. He is terrible with it.

I wonder if his lactulose aversion is causing him to not feel well.. he forces himself to vomit, many times when I give him the lactulose; does not swallow it.. it leaks out between his teeth, onto me, him, the towel, the wet paper towels.

He needs the lactulose. His stool is a bit dry. sigh..

After all, Artie will be 14 yrs old in February, and has been sick since I adopted him, 6 years this upcoming March. He could just be getting old.. and his issues finally effecting him.

Of course, I have not been feeling all that well since Thanksgiving. Do not know if I am fighting a cold, overtired, or just regular blahs.. but... not even feeling like putting up Christmas Decorations...
*************************************

My friend gave me a large (for us) gift card to Amazon, for a combo b-day/Xmas gift.
I decided to splurge on myself. I never buy things for myself. I probably should have saved it for things I really need, but I got overwhelmed by Black Friday sales, and kind of feeling down in the dumps, and lethargic. I know I have sleep apnea. I finally gave in and decided that a couple weeks ago.

I did buy an Amazon Echo/Alexa. I am using it mainly for the speakers. I listen to a ton of music and can link it to Pandora and Tune-in Radio. If I feel like playing around, I can hear a joke, play Jeopardy with it, or just as the weather, without pulling out the laptop or phone.

I got the Echo on Sunday. Artie is afraid of it!!! He hears the voice and kind of freaks out because it is female and he cannot find the person associated with the voice.

Also, "Alexa" is very similar to "Artie". He keeps looking up at me when I say, "Alexa".
I may change it's name to 'Echo". Artie thinks I am talking to him. He cannot understand this huge change.

Gotta go, make up for the stuff, I have been putting off. Going to garage for car stuff.

Artie's sub-q's will be late today.. He did eat a bit of breakfast.. late but ate it. The cypro is still in his system.

 

[Antonio65]

Probably the sweet taste of the lactulose is disgusting him?
Yes, the age and the long time not feeling well might be taking a toll on him.

Pallina is having some troubles with her stomach too. She's been getting shots of ranitidine for 10 days now. I can't wait for tomorrow when she'll scanned with ultrasounds and then on Friday she'll have a visit with an IM vet.

Hugs to Artie!

 

[verna davies]

Cindy, I'm sure you have already gone down this route but as Antonio65 mentioned, laculose is sweet and many cats dont like it because of that. I googled alternatives and these came up:-
Docusate
Cisapride
Metocopramide
Kristalose
Misoprostol.

 

[artiemom]

V verna davies , tried the Deocusate, He is taking it, (cisapride) ~ 3 times a day. Have not tried the others..
Metocopramide (Reglan) made him a bit spacey.. He had that when initially diagnosed.
Kristalose: have to remember and ask about that.. although I do not know how I would give that. I am already mixing Miralax with water and adding that to his food.
Misoprostol: looked it up online, kind of scared me...

I did contact the Nvet about this.. just waiting to see if he has any thoughts...I have to look up the other stuff.. problem is, absolutely nothing can be added to his food. I am not taking the chance of a food aversion.

We kind of have a set plan with meds right now, even though Artie is terrible about the Lactulose. It does seem to help. With this new regimen, each med seems to be having one specific function on his stools, working together in unison to produce.

Antonio65 ((hugs)) to Pallina... good luck with the scan.. let us know.. please

 

[tarasgirl06]

V verna davies , tried the Deocusate, He is taking it, (cisapride) ~ 3 times a day. Have not tried the others..
Metocopramide (Reglan) made him a bit spacey.. He had that when initially diagnosed.
Kristalose: have to remember and ask about that.. although I do not know how I would give that. I am already mixing Miralax with water and adding that to his food.
Misoprostol: looked it up online, kind of scared me...

I did contact the Nvet about this.. just waiting to see if he has any thoughts...I have to look up the other stuff.. problem is, absolutely nothing can be added to his food. I am not taking the chance of a food aversion.

We kind of have a set plan with meds right now, even though Artie is terrible about the Lactulose. It does seem to help. With this new regimen, each med seems to be having one specific function on his stools, working together in unison to produce.

Antonio65 ((hugs)) to Pallina... good luck with the scan.. let us know.. please

It's probably like you say -- the chaos of the season, the contractors and the noise. Cats love pattern (routine) and some are more sensitive than others to noise, change, etc. Artie isn't old. Fourteen is not old for a cat in these times. With the love and excellent care he gets from you and his care team, he has his off days, but mostly he is doing really, really well. Try to bear that in mind when he's having a less-than-great day (and when you are, as well!) and know he will have these days, but that they aren't the norm for him any more than not-so-great days are for you. It's easy to get down, but the trick is not to stay down. We all have to work at that, don't we?
And yes, Antonio65 -- good thoughts and *PRAYERS* for Pallina to have good results on her scan!

 

[Mamanyt1953]

Since you are so accustomed to the sub-q meds, I wonder if there is an injectable that might do the same thing as the Lactulose? Just a thought...a quick injection would be easier on both of you than fighting over the orals.

 

[artiemom]

Artie update: Artie pooped twice yesterday: 7 x 1 inches, and 6.5 x 1/2 inch. Both were hardish/dry.

He just seemed off.. Gave him a Cerenia in the afternoon. He did seem to eat a bit, once it took effect, but not much. I gave him some cypro before I went to bed, leaving him a ton of food. He ate 1/2 can of food--good boy, and a tiny bit of dry.

I am going to repeat the cerenia and cypro today.

He tried to poop, first thing this morning. Had a tuff time. Only 2.5 x 1/2--- very dry and dark. It is because he was fighting the lactulose. I did manage to get 4 cc in him, yesterday. Second dose of it was last night, when he did not expect it..

Poor thing, I was after him about 7 or 8 times yesterday, with meds... sigh

He did come in to cuddle in bed. I guess I was a bit too restless for him, plus the Cypro was working.. He only stayed a few minutes.. that means he was not feeling well.

Artie is looking at the litter box.. I know he needs a MegaPoop today..

I also wonder if the Pepcid is enough for him. It seems he is getting more tummy aches/nausea .....could be from anything with this cat. But it seems more stomach related than bowel related.

Poor baby wanted breakfast, but did not eat.. Not time for the Cerenia, yet... need to wait several more hours for that. I gave it at 2:30 yesterday.

Got a phone call last night from Super. He will be in very early this morning to shut off my water... where and if the main water, I do not know.. the call was from his wife.. sigh

Gotta make sure I fill up a couple of pans of water---just in case, my dishes are washed, Artie gets his sub-q's... and I shower. I had plans today also... I am so done with this place. How many times have I stayed home to accommodate them.. Since September, it has been a ton of times...

Gotta go

 

[Antonio65]

Yes, Cindy, too many times you had people in your home, works, noises, smells, dust, stress.
I wonder if all these troubles might affect Artie's mind and body, and how much of his issues could be related to these troubles.

I am so delighted that, despite you chasing him for the meds, he still wants you at night. Such a lovely boy!

 

[di and bob]

Miralax worked when all others failed for my Burt, 1/4 teaspoon mixed in egg yolk. Ask your vet. I hope things turn around for you, I know how you feel. I have to just thank goodness for the good things in my life, it is too easy to dwell on the bad. i keep thinking what an unpleasant person I am to be around, I really don't want to be like that. Thank goodness our cats just love us as we are! Thank you so much for your updates, I'll keep you both in my thoughts and prayers!

 

[tarasgirl06]

Artie update: Artie pooped twice yesterday: 7 x 1 inches, and 6.5 x 1/2 inch. Both were hardish/dry.

He just seemed off.. Gave him a Cerenia in the afternoon. He did seem to eat a bit, once it took effect, but not much. I gave him some cypro before I went to bed, leaving him a ton of food. He ate 1/2 can of food--good boy, and a tiny bit of dry.

I am going to repeat the cerenia and cypro today.

He tried to poop, first thing this morning. Had a tuff time. Only 2.5 x 1/2--- very dry and dark. It is because he was fighting the lactulose. I did manage to get 4 cc in him, yesterday. Second dose of it was last night, when he did not expect it..

Poor thing, I was after him about 7 or 8 times yesterday, with meds... sigh

He did come in to cuddle in bed. I guess I was a bit too restless for him, plus the Cypro was working.. He only stayed a few minutes.. that means he was not feeling well.

Artie is looking at the litter box.. I know he needs a MegaPoop today..

I also wonder if the Pepcid is enough for him. It seems he is getting more tummy aches/nausea .....could be from anything with this cat. But it seems more stomach related than bowel related.

Poor baby wanted breakfast, but did not eat.. Not time for the Cerenia, yet... need to wait several more hours for that. I gave it at 2:30 yesterday.

Got a phone call last night from Super. He will be in very early this morning to shut off my water... where and if the main water, I do not know.. the call was from his wife.. sigh

Gotta make sure I fill up a couple of pans of water---just in case, my dishes are washed, Artie gets his sub-q's... and I shower. I had plans today also... I am so done with this place. How many times have I stayed home to accommodate them.. Since September, it has been a ton of times...

Gotta go

Life can really get on top of us at times. I felt somewhat that way myself this morning. But I've learned that powering through the negative feelings will bring change, and before I know it, the negative feeling is lessened, if not completely gone. For me, my beloved cats keep me going, as Artie does for you; and my work advocating for cats does, too. Every precious life saved is a cause for gratitude and celebration. For me, I am very capable of running my own life/taking care of my own business and my loved ones. You sound like you are the same. It's when other people are involved that things can take a downturn, as you say. It's necessary for this to happen sometimes (the other people being involved) but maybe it's an exercise in patience and forbearance for us. What do you think?

 

[mazie]

ife can really get on top of us at times. I felt somewhat that way myself this morning. But I've learned that powering through the negative feelings will bring change, and before I know it, the negative feeling is lessened, if not completely gone. For me, my beloved cats keep me going, as Artie does for you; and my work advocating for cats does, too. Every precious life saved is a cause for gratitude and celebration. For me, I am very capable of running my own life/taking care of my own business and my loved ones. You sound like you are the same. It's when other people are involved that things can take a downturn, as you say. It's necessary for this to happen sometimes (the other people being involved) but maybe it's an exercise in patience and forbearance for us. What do you think?

So true what you said, I love how you put it. Life is full of trials and tribulations, there is no way to get around that fact.

 

[tarasgirl06]

So true what you said, I love how you put it. Life is full of trials and tribulations, there is no way to get around that fact.

Yeah (not to go OT too much, but wanted to respond) - when you look at the lives of even the so-called "rich and famous" -- no one in history has ever been without hardship, sickness and tragedy. Princess Diana, for instance? Any "celeb" you want to name? Great leaders? All of them have/had "stuff" in their lives. Sometimes some people forget that. For me, it helps me to get through my own stuff when I remember this. And another thing that helps is realizing how blessed and fortunate we are compared to most on this earth. I can ALWAYS think: "My life is so much better than (--)'s." I want everyone basically to have a good life, but I can always be grateful for our own blessings while praying for others/the world in general. It does help my attitude.