Artie and his Issues

[artiemom]

Artie hid most of the day in his quilt/tent. I did give him his cerenia & cisapride around 2pm and the Cyproheptadine & Colace around 4pm.

He waited a while but decided to eat some of his food at 5:45pm.. We will see. I did throw away the rest of the tuna from this morning. He wanted it!! spoiled and sick cat..

He is back to his quilt; this time on top of it.. fingers crossed, he is a bit improved.

Wow, the Cypro must have kicked in. I just looked over at him, he looked at me, I greeted Artie. He walked down from the coach and over to his food... He is eating!! I can hear him!! fingers crossed!!

 

[rubysmama]

Fingers crossed that Artie's over this latest bump in the road. Hope you both have a restful night.

 

[maggiedemi]

Good boy Artie!

 

[Margret]

Cindy, the dry food is called Fiber Response, right? What exactly is the point of this food; is it to get fiber into Artie to help him with pooping? Because if that's all it's for it ought to be possible to mix some Metamucil into his canned food. You may want to ask the NVet about that when you talk with him tomorrow.



Margret

 

[maggiedemi]

I agree with Margret. I hate to say anything or boss anybody around, but canned food has helped my cats so much. If I give my male cat even a Tablespoon too much dry food, all the problems start happening again. Okay, I'll shut up now about canned food. Love to Artie

 

[tarasgirl06]

I have trouble medicating both of my cats and had a lot of trouble medicating my beloved Inky who just died of cancer 3 days ago. He needed a lot of meds twice a day between pain meds from cancer, insulin from diabetes, antinausea meds when chemo made him sick and antibiotics from frequent infections after lots of surgeries, being diabetic and scratching his tumors raw.
He was so bad with pills and liquid meds, he'd drool and fight and sometomes throw up and I never felt like he got the full dose. Plus his cancer was in his ears and the tumors would bleed everywhere with the slightest touch and he had to wear a cone or donut and he hated having his face or head touched after all the surgeries and ear treatments so I hated fighting with him. Being diabetic he couldn't not eat or vomit it could become life threatening very quickly. So I advocated to get all or most of his meds in injectable forms. If you can give subcutaneous fluids it's the same thing many meds are made in subcutaneous form. I even learned how to give benadryl intramuscular which was much easier than liquids or pills. He never flinched or moved for 4 or 5 injections 2 or 3 times a day, it took less than 5 minutes and it was so nice not to fight with him. Much quicker than waiting for subq fluids to absorb. Much less traumatic for both of us too. The last thing I want to do with my beloved chronically ill cat is fight over necessary meds, especially for my cat who was dying.
You could ask your vet, I'm going to continue to advocate for both of my other 2 who are also awful to medicate. Best of luck to you both. Arties got an awesome loving mom!

My heartfelt condolences on your loss of your precious Inky. Know he watches over you with love and that you will be reunited in due time.

 

[tarasgirl06]

Thanks, I understand.. If it were up to me, he would not get the dry food; but this particular food is not produced in either wet nor a non-chicken alternative..

Actually, Artie has not had any dry food, or treats since 2015... when the IBD was diagnosed.

I wish I had some good suggestion, but all I can do is offer *PRAYERS* for Artie and for you, too...and hope that he improves quickly. Poor little guy! He's been doing so well there for quite awhile. May this be just a temporary setback.

 

[maggiedemi]

I'm not saying eliminate the dry food completely. My cats would kill me if I did that, they love their kibble. But I would do both if you can. Of course, ask your vet's advice first because I know nothing about IBD. Good luck whatever you decide. Be good for mama Artie

 

[inkysmom]

Antinausea meds come on injectable subcutaneous forms, one less thing to struggle with him about. Inky was on antinausea injections 2 or 3 times a day the last month or so from the chemotherapy.
My current young dog was recently diagnosed with IBD and food allergies but he has the more typical diarrhea. Although he doesn't like any of the prescription diets and will go up to 4 or 5 days without eating anything at all if I don't give in and give him forbidden bacon treats or some of my food. He's lost a few pounds but is over 70 pounds so it's not as scary if he loses some although he's thin. And dogs don't go into liver failure if they go 3 days without eating like cats. And I can force him to swallow all his pills if I have to. But he has days where he won't poop at all and then days where he goes more.
Thank you for the kind condolences for Inky tarasgirl. I and my pets still miss him very much.

 

[maggiedemi]

Hi Artiemom. How is Artie doing today? Is the Fiber Response dry food that he's on from Royal Canin? I just looked it up and it doesn't sound bad at all. It says it's good for urinary problems too. My guy has urinary problems so I would feed it. I would just ask the vet if I could at least give him half a big can of wet food a day along with it.

 

[artiemom]

Artie is still hurting. The cypro did help his appetite. He ate 1/2 of a cup of the RC FR food between his dose yesterday afternoon and this morning.

Artie did poop last night. First time was a 3 x 1 inc piece which was drier than normal for him. He also had a piece that would not exit him. I had to very gently wipe it off, finally kind of pulling off the play-doh piece. It was about 30 minutes later when he went back into the litter box and pooped a 5 x 1 inch pieces ~ again, drier than before.

Artie cuddled right up next to me, from the time I went to bed until when I physically got up. He does that when he is sick. If I move, I have to be in physical contact with him.

This morning, he is still not feeling well. I know the cerenia can make him a bit drowsy. I had to try to cajole him to eat 3 pieces of dry. sigh

I immediately called and spoke with NVet's secretary. Told her the entire story. I also said I was going to summarize things and send it to her, along with pictures of all. Even though this is an "off" day for the NVET, she is going to e-mail him my summary, along with the notes she took during our conversation. Yes, she is a secretary, but an experienced one, an felt that I was doing everything correctly and I did not need to take him in to the ER.

Artie is not himself. poor baby. He ate 5 pieces of food, on his own.
I gave him all his morning meds, and his sub-q's. He is now on top of his quilt..

And of all days.. It is going to be in the 90's today. It is already 90 degrees and I cannot use my AC!!! I am furious!!

My Super knocked on my door about an hour ago. I guess my "NEW" HVAC unit is leaking the condensation all the way down to the unit below me and down onto the garage!!!!

So now, I am without AC, Artie is curled up, in a meatloaf on his quilt, not eating... I have 2 air purifiers that I am running on high, to act as fans. The blinds are down and closed.. and I am stuck here waiting for these idiots to service the AC... I am so mad I am fit to be tied!! I could spit bullets...

Well, the HVAC guy just came in. It was a loose tube!! OMG!!!!

Now the AC is on and working!!! but the aggravation...

Ok.. Artie is still not eating. sigh...I gave the cypro around 10;30-11.. it is now 12;24pm.. so I guess it should be kicking in soon.
I am planning on getting out of the house for a bit; perhaps ice cream.. Yes, I am an emotional eater.
If he has not eaten any food, I think I will give him a bit more tuna and tuna water to see if that jump starts his appetite. sigh..

Artie will get another dose of cypro tonight, before my bedtime.

The commotion with the HVAC guy scared him. I opened up the quilt for him so he could get into his "tent"..

As far as canned food with added Metamucil (psylium). I tried that before. By the time Artie ate it, remember he is a free feeder; it became a gloppy blob... ....

The RC Fiber Response food has the psylium, chicory root fiber, some salmon/fish oil and such in it.

I am just waiting for something to happen. Even my super's wife, saw that he was not feeling well. He allowed her to pat him, and love him a bit. Artie is such a sweet boy.

It feels as though today is dragging along.... it is going to be a long day...

 

[tarasgirl06]

Artie is still hurting. The cypro did help his appetite. He ate 1/2 of a cup of the RC FR food between his dose yesterday afternoon and this morning.

Artie did poop last night. First time was a 3 x 1 inc piece which was drier than normal for him. He also had a piece that would not exit him. I had to very gently wipe it off, finally kind of pulling off the play-doh piece. It was about 30 minutes later when he went back into the litter box and pooped a 5 x 1 inch pieces ~ again, drier than before.

Artie cuddled right up next to me, from the time I went to bed until when I physically got up. He does that when he is sick. If I move, I have to be in physical contact with him.

This morning, he is still not feeling well. I know the cerenia can make him a bit drowsy. I had to try to cajole him to eat 3 pieces of dry. sigh

I immediately called and spoke with NVet's secretary. Told her the entire story. I also said I was going to summarize things and send it to her, along with pictures of all. Even though this is an "off" day for the NVET, she is going to e-mail him my summary, along with the notes she took during our conversation. Yes, she is a secretary, but an experienced one, an felt that I was doing everything correctly and I did not need to take him in to the ER.

Artie is not himself. poor baby. He ate 5 pieces of food, on his own.
I gave him all his morning meds, and his sub-q's. He is now on top of his quilt..

And of all days.. It is going to be in the 90's today. It is already 90 degrees and I cannot use my AC!!! I am furious!!

My Super knocked on my door about an hour ago. I guess my "NEW" HVAC unit is leaking the condensation all the way down to the unit below me and down onto the garage!!!!

So now, I am without AC, Artie is curled up, in a meatloaf on his quilt, not eating... I have 2 air purifiers that I am running on high, to act as fans. The blinds are down and closed.. and I am stuck here waiting for these idiots to service the AC... I am so mad I am fit to be tied!! I could spit bullets...

Well, the HVAC guy just came in. It was a loose tube!! OMG!!!!

Now the AC is on and working!!! but the aggravation...

Ok.. Artie is still not eating. sigh...I gave the cypro around 10;30-11.. it is now 12;24pm.. so I guess it should be kicking in soon.
I am planning on getting out of the house for a bit; perhaps ice cream.. Yes, I am an emotional eater.
If he has not eaten any food, I think I will give him a bit more tuna and tuna water to see if that jump starts his appetite. sigh..

Artie will get another dose of cypro tonight, before my bedtime.

The commotion with the HVAC guy scared him. I opened up the quilt for him so he could get into his "tent"..

As far as canned food with added Metamucil (psylium). I tried that before. By the time Artie ate it, remember he is a free feeder; it became a gloppy blob... ....

The RC Fiber Response food has the psylium, chicory root fiber, some salmon/fish oil and such in it.

I am just waiting for something to happen. Even my super's wife, saw that he was not feeling well. He allowed her to pat him, and love him a bit. Artie is such a sweet boy.

It feels as though today is dragging along.... it is going to be a long day...

Very glad he does not have to go to ER. Sounds like you're doing the right things. Just a little input: a lot of cats I know can't resist sardines. Just as a possible alternative to keep on hand for when he needs a little extra encouragement. And if you eat them, then you have the rest of them to enjoy.
Glad the A/C was an easy fix, too.

 

[Mamanyt1953]

If he goes for sardines, perhaps you could sneak some medication in that way...you know, play "Hide the pill in the fishy." I absolutely shudder at the thought of sticking a pill in a sardine, but it can't be any worse than what you are doing now! And a little lemon juice will take the smell off of your hands. Not sure about the other meds...still pondering, but not coming up with anything right now.

 

[maggiedemi]

This heat today is insane. My cats decided they wanted pate today. All winter they hated pate and only wanted the gravy foods. Now they reject the gravy. Maybe it's the heat, I know I wouldn't want to eat a heavy gravy meal right now. Anyway, I hope Artie eats a good dinner tonight...

 

[artiemom]

Artie appeared to be wanting to eat, but not eating. He was going over to his food dish and just walked away. I hope it is not a case of food aversion..sigh

He is following me around everywhere!

I gave him another dose of Cerenia at 3pm. I was so tired, I ended up lying down on top of the bed. I was covered with Artie's new soft fleece throw. He came right over, and cuddled with me. I was awake most of the time, and Artie was right there with me.. strange. He must have gone over to his food and ate about 1/8 cup of food.

Artie has taken me over to his litter box a few times. He has started digging, and then stopped.. I hope he is not constipated now.. damn...

He is also a bit vocal.. meowing a lot, in a talking way. I need to learn CATTISH....a soft meow.. not an angry one.

Now he is curled up on top of his quilt. Keeps going over to the food and walking away. I wonder if he wants fresh food?? With this cat, it could be that.

Have not heard from the NVet. Hopefully tomorrow..I will check in with him. He may not be around; after all, it is his day off and a very long, 4 day, weekend for him. Or he may be away.

 

[tarasgirl06]

This heat today is insane. My cats decided they wanted pate today. All winter they hated pate and only wanted the gravy foods. Now they reject the gravy. Maybe it's the heat, I know I wouldn't want to eat a heavy gravy meal right now. Anyway, I hope Artie eats a good dinner tonight...

Yeah, pate would definitely be my choice on a hot day. We get a lot of those here in L.A. Metro and can't afford the HVAC, so we tough it out. Cats seek the laminate, tiles, shower, sinks, tubs in hot weather. I open windows and doors at night (I have a security door, and screens on French doors) to cool it down. There are always times when it's 90F at midnight inside. Seriously. So we know about heat. Don't like it, but know about it.

 

[tarasgirl06]

Artie appeared to be wanting to eat, but not eating. He was going over to his food dish and just walked away. I hope it is not a case of food aversion..sigh

He is following me around everywhere!

I gave him another dose of Cerenia at 3pm. I was so tired, I ended up lying down on top of the bed. I was covered with Artie's new soft fleece throw. He came right over, and cuddled with me. I was awake most of the time, and Artie was right there with me.. strange. He must have gone over to his food and ate about 1/8 cup of food.

Artie has taken me over to his litter box a few times. He has started digging, and then stopped.. I hope he is not constipated now.. damn...

He is also a bit vocal.. meowing a lot, in a talking way. I need to learn CATTISH....a soft meow.. not an angry one.

Now he is curled up on top of his quilt. Keeps going over to the food and walking away. I wonder if he wants fresh food?? With this cat, it could be that.

Have not heard from the NVet. Hopefully tomorrow..I will check in with him. He may not be around; after all, it is his day off and a very long, 4 day, weekend for him. Or he may be away.

Hope Artie will reconsider, decide his food is very interesting, and eat well.
So Artie has a new fleece throw -- what color? I hope it meets and even exceeds his comfort and softness expectations (and yours as well).

 

[maggiedemi]

Oh yeah, I forgot to ask, does Artie like his new blanket? Did he notice that you got rid of his old one?

 

[tarasgirl06]

Oh yeah, I forgot to ask, does Artie like his new blanket? Did he notice that you got rid of his old one?

*Inquiring minds DO want to know!*

 

[artiemom]

Artie's new plush throw is the color of beach sand. He boycotted it for a couple days. I solved that by putting it on top of my bed while he is on his 'cuddling' phase. Solved the problem. Last night, he was very "Happy" so many times, I lost count.

I still have the old throw, hidden away in my store room.

Yesterday, with the help of the cypro and cerenia, Artie ate a total of 3/8 cup of food. He is refusing it this morning, but ate 1/8 cup during the night.

The Cypro is making he extremely vocal. He is also following around everywhere I go...right up next to me.

Last night he would not leave my side, and tried to keep me up all night!! constantly meowing.. not much sleep for me.

I think I found his threshold on the cypro. Three doses of 1/2 tablet causes the meows, and keeping me up. For the future, I will just give 2 full doses, and cut back to 1/4 pill at night.

Artie is constipated... what else is new?? sigh

Yesterday afternoon, he took me over to the litter box, several times, trying to dig unsuccessfully. He ended up peeing a tiny clump. sigh

He did the same thing today. It is the lack of Miralax which is doing this...sigh...

When I saw this, I gave him an extra 1 cc of lactulose. He had a dose of 4 cc Lactulose yesterday.. probably too late for him, but..

The Cerenia has kicked in. He is much more alert and feeling better, except for the pooping...sigh...

So weird how this began. But, looking back, His refusal and being so hard to medicate last week was this flare coming on....

Praying for poops....Going out around 8am for Mass, and a quick trip to TJ.. hopefully by the time I return, I will have a present.

Oh yeah, last night, around 9:45pm, my super was knocking at my door. There was still a "Leak" down in the Garage! He had to come in to check my HVAC unit!!! I was about to go to bed.. man..

He said it was not my unit, but will return today to augment the hose connection.. Stupid HVAC company!! They cannot even fix things correctly.. probably the lowest bidder for the replacements..

I always say, "you get what you pay for" and "penny wise, pound foolish"... especially in dealing with this management company....