Artie and his Issues

[Columbine]

SO happy to read this update N vet really does sound wonderful. Just remember to breathe, take the time you need to look after yourself as well as Artie, and above all TRUST YOURSELF. To quote N vet - you got this

 

[lavishsqualor]

Fantastically AWESOME news!

 

[rubysmama]

So happy that you have the new vet and that you like and trust him. That is such a big deal. Also glad he respects the fact that you know Artie better than he does, and is willing to let you make some decisions on your own.

Is the new vet at a cat only hospital?

How old is Artie again? And how long have you had him?

 

[tarasgirl06]

OMG! I absolutely love NVet. I got an e-mail from his secretary PLUS a phone call from him! I just got off the phone with NVet!!

He is so caring, and kind, so, so, so smart!!

Re: Rabies vax: They have found that the one year vaccine has less probability towards producing tumors in Cats. They are only giving the one year for cats. Dogs do get the 3 year vaccine. Who knew?? Glad they do!! This is an awesome place to take animals. They do cutting edge research on everything. and then report it to the public.. Kind of like the Mass General Hospital does for humans.

I am still doing the correct things.. I can give him some tuna, but I do risk the possibility of making his IBD worse. But if he is not eating, then I do not have any choice. The same thing with sardines, or anything else. We will do what we need to do to get him to eat and then deal with the rest...big sigh of relief!!!

He said I obviously know my cat better than him, so do what I think will work..

Weight loss is not bad. Just keep and eye on it.

I did right by giving Artie 1/2 of the cyproheptadine. I can try 1/4 and see how that goes with him.

Yesterday, Artie was probably having a slight reaction to the vaccine, and everything else he went through.

If he does not respond the next step would be an ultrasound and a possible re-scoping. The NVet does not want to go that route.. so we are just treating as we can.. We could change his IBD meds around, but that is still down the line.

All Artie's blood tests and urine are absolutely normal!! amazing...

NVet was rushed, but spent so much time explaining stuff. It was a short, but QUALITY phone call.

I feel so much better now.. This is truly an excellent doctor. I know why he is in such demand.

After giving Artie the cypro last night, he ate 3/8 cup of food.. yippee!
Nothing this morning. I just gave him 1/4 of a cypro pill.

He is still curled up, on top of his tent. Yes, I have found Poop 'presents' around the house. Nothing I can do about that.
NVet said to slowly introduce his lactulose. I said I was planning on 2 cc today, he said that "YOU GOT IT"...

I will wash his quilt, this week-end.. just spot treat in the meantime.

Now, I am doing a search for his Lactated Ringers. The local pharmacy, which required a script, said that it is out of stock!!!!! They are checking into it and will call me with an update.

If worse comes to worse, I can order it on line, and check out Costco--around here. I do not have a card, but I can see what they say.

CVS and Rite-aid do not know anything about it... kind of stupid..but..
If worse comes to worse, I can always pick up a bag at the RVet, so I have options. I have 3 bags left.. I will open up a new bag this week-end.

I feel so much better.. Thank all you for all your support and suggestions. In reality, I was beside myself yesterday. I felt stressed and overwhelmed.. I trust this Vet. I really do.

Even though of course we want definitive answers we can work with when our loved ones aren't 100%, "normal" test results are something to celebrate, yes? Don't forget, DrsFosterSmith.com has Ringers online. Just in case. They have online chat/telephonic and their customer service is excellent.
Reading your post makes me remember times when I was caring for sick/aging feline loved ones and how much I relied on Nature's Miracle Just For Cats. Aren't we glad these products are available to us?

 

[lavishsqualor]

A favor to ask . . . would those in the know please give me a break down of just what the Nvet and others are?

 

[artiemom]

So happy that you have the new vet and that you like and trust him. That is such a big deal. Also glad he respects the fact that you know Artie better than he does, and is willing to let you make some decisions on your own.

Is the new vet at a cat only hospital?

How old is Artie again? And how long have you had him?

A favor to ask . . . would those in the know please give me a break down of just what the Nvet and others are?

As for my initials, NVet stands for New Vet (meaning new specialist)
R Vet stands for Regular Vet...

Artie is 13 years old. Yes a senior. I adopted him when he had just turned 8 years old. I did want a younger cat, but when I heard his story, and saw him, I knew he had to be mine.

NVet does not work at a Feline Only Hospital. He takes care of all animals. He is a Specialist in the Internal Medicine Department of Angell Memorial Animal Care Center, in Boston, MA.

Angell Memorial is really a Premier Hospital for all types of animals. They do innovative treatments. Think of a Major Boston Hospital, and apply that thought to animals.

Artie has been refusing his food all day; even with the 1/4 cypro! He wants different food. I am about to give him his Cerenia and Cisapride.

I gave him his lactulose over an hour ago. Man, did he fight me tooth and nail. It was a chore getting it in him. Of course, some of it got all over him. I really do need to isolate him in a chair, with my body blocking him form moving, and get a good grip on his head.

He reminds me of a doll, saying,"NO, NO, NO" while wildly shaking its head from side to side, up and down, and scooting its lower body out of your grasp... a wild worm.. or a snake doing a snake dance.. I am never certain of how much he takes in....

He is following me around everywhere, thinking I will cave in and give him different or fresh food. Artie has resorted to sitting outside the kitchen entry way, on the threshold, waiting for me. He has been sitting in front of me, staring. When I look at him, he licks his lips.. so smart..

I am going to wait.. and see what happens. I will probably give him another 1/4 of the cypro later tonight.. if I lose sleep, so be it.. at least I will be aware of the effect on him.

 

[Mamanyt1953]

~flops back and heaves a sigh of relief~ Well...that went well! And now I have a new fact to add to my store of stuff for Hekitty...ALWAYS ask for the 1-year rabies vaccine! Thanks! That's tremendous information to have.

 

[lavishsqualor]

Thank you for the info!

 

[inkysmom]

Sounds like you and net are doing everything you can together. It's great that his test results are good. If he's drooling when you medicate him there's something some cats do that I recently learned about called stress drooling. Two of mine did that whenever I tried to medicate them which is why I finally made such a big push for injectable medications. My cat who recently died was diabetic and had cancer and wasn't getting the full dose of medications when he drooled so much and he needed his correct dose plus with diabetes he couldn't safely not eat for too long. And my little cat is small and wasn't getting his full dose if antibiotics and would hide and not eat and lost too much weight so was also getting too stressed. Arties could be nausous too which us why he's not eating much, but stress drooling could be contributing to the drooling from nausea. Just a thought since I'd never heard of it til recently and I've had cats for many years.
I recently had vets try to insist on the one year vaccines for rabies and distemper too. I still don't like giving yearly vaccines to indoor pets when they cause side effects and reactions, especially old or sick animals. The best way to know how often they really need vaccines is to test their immunity through taking titers but a lot of vets don't like to or refuse to do that. My cynical belief is because those titers would show that pets sre very over vaccinated which would hurt their profits. Some titers done on horses show that horses can go years between vaccines and have full immunity. I refuse to vaccinate my little cat who has allergies to basically everything and constantly has raw bloody sores from licking and scratching his fur off. His symptoms started after his last vaccines a year and a half ago, and I don't want to stress his immune system any more until his allergies are treated.
No offense at all intended towards nvet he sounds thorough and caring.

 

[maggiedemi]

Artie might be rejecting the specialty dry food because it doesn't taste as good as the regular. I have my cats on urinary dry food, but they are refusing to eat it this week. I'm going to have to find something else again. They must leave out some of the flavoring in the specialty food.

 

[artiemom]

Artie is on a hunger strike, again.. I am so tired of his hunger strikes. These things get me really upset.

Last night, while I was eating, he was all over me.. my food, my lap. I had to really shoo him away. All I had was a salad.

And then when I was on the laptop, he was crawling all over the keyboard.. he was refusing his food, letting me know he wanted canned food. He even resorted to giving me loud MEOWS..and licking his lips..at the same time!!! Who said cats do not communicate with humans??

He ate a tiny bit of the prescription food. I do not think that it is a case of his not caring for the flavor. He took to the dry food immediately.
I think it is since he has gotten sick, he is equating that food to having an upset tummy. He is just starving himself for new food.

I weighed him this morning... more weight lost. now down to 10.26lbs....

We played for a long time.. gently playing, but he got some jumps in.

I broke down, after I weighed him, giving him 1/2 can of kitty tuna. Artie gobbled it down, licking the plate. I added a bit of miralax to it.

I was busy doing stuff around here, and after doing a quick wash of the floors, Artie was after me for more of the tuna...sigh...

I tried to resist.. but As they say: "Resistance is Futile".....yes,
the Borg.....that is how I felt.

I reluctantly gave him the rest of the tuna, telling him that this is the LAST time he is getting it. I added a couple of dry pieces to it, along with the rest of the miralax mix. Again, he gobbled it down, licking the bowl... Now he has a full tummy and is sleeping ...

I tried to play our food game; unsuccessful. He only went after 5 pieces of food.

I really do not know how to handle this cat on a day to day, minute by minute basis.. perhaps I should just ignore him... but he pushes his way in, complaining, or getting sick...sigh..

 

[Mamanyt1953]

Darlin, 98 times out of 100 you do a phenomenal job of handling Artie. And the other two you are exhausted and distressed. I'm just happy that he's even insisting on ANY type of food. I so remember the days that he couldn't care less.

 

[artiemom]

Thanks... Artie is just so frustrating.. I honestly do not know what to do.

I think I keep bugging the NVet's secretary , thinking she has some way of reading his mind...sigh..It sometimes gets too overwhelming.. that is when I cave in.

I guess I just have to get myself so busy that I do not even see Artie.. that way, I do not have to deal with him.... no.. that is not the answer..
but sometimes, it is tempting...

 

[tarasgirl06]

Sounds like you and net are doing everything you can together. It's great that his test results are good. If he's drooling when you medicate him there's something some cats do that I recently learned about called stress drooling. Two of mine did that whenever I tried to medicate them which is why I finally made such a big push for injectable medications. My cat who recently died was diabetic and had cancer and wasn't getting the full dose of medications when he drooled so much and he needed his correct dose plus with diabetes he couldn't safely not eat for too long. And my little cat is small and wasn't getting his full dose if antibiotics and would hide and not eat and lost too much weight so was also getting too stressed. Arties could be nausous too which us why he's not eating much, but stress drooling could be contributing to the drooling from nausea. Just a thought since I'd never heard of it til recently and I've had cats for many years.
I recently had vets try to insist on the one year vaccines for rabies and distemper too. I still don't like giving yearly vaccines to indoor pets when they cause side effects and reactions, especially old or sick animals. The best way to know how often they really need vaccines is to test their immunity through taking titers but a lot of vets don't like to or refuse to do that. My cynical belief is because those titers would show that pets sre very over vaccinated which would hurt their profits. Some titers done on horses show that horses can go years between vaccines and have full immunity. I refuse to vaccinate my little cat who has allergies to basically everything and constantly has raw bloody sores from licking and scratching his fur off. His symptoms started after his last vaccines a year and a half ago, and I don't want to stress his immune system any more until his allergies are treated.
No offense at all intended towards nvet he sounds thorough and caring.

*AGREE 100%* and thanking you for sticking to your guns, so to speak, for your CAT.

 

[tarasgirl06]

Artie is on a hunger strike, again.. I am so tired of his hunger strikes. These things get me really upset.

Last night, while I was eating, he was all over me.. my food, my lap. I had to really shoo him away. All I had was a salad.

And then when I was on the laptop, he was crawling all over the keyboard.. he was refusing his food, letting me know he wanted canned food. He even resorted to giving me loud MEOWS..and licking his lips..at the same time!!! Who said cats do not communicate with humans??

He ate a tiny bit of the prescription food. I do not think that it is a case of his not caring for the flavor. He took to the dry food immediately.
I think it is since he has gotten sick, he is equating that food to having an upset tummy. He is just starving himself for new food.

I weighed him this morning... more weight lost. now down to 10.26lbs....

We played for a long time.. gently playing, but he got some jumps in.

I broke down, after I weighed him, giving him 1/2 can of kitty tuna. Artie gobbled it down, licking the plate. I added a bit of miralax to it.

I was busy doing stuff around here, and after doing a quick wash of the floors, Artie was after me for more of the tuna...sigh...

I tried to resist.. but As they say: "Resistance is Futile".....yes,
the Borg.....that is how I felt.

I reluctantly gave him the rest of the tuna, telling him that this is the LAST time he is getting it. I added a couple of dry pieces to it, along with the rest of the miralax mix. Again, he gobbled it down, licking the bowl... Now he has a full tummy and is sleeping ...

I tried to play our food game; unsuccessful. He only went after 5 pieces of food.

I really do not know how to handle this cat on a day to day, minute by minute basis.. perhaps I should just ignore him... but he pushes his way in, complaining, or getting sick...sigh..

Well, it's a rare cat who wouldn't prefer tinned tuna to almost anything else, especially Rx dry -- when my beloved Sun was diagnosed with dry-form FIP and put on a special diet, he WOULD. NOT. EAT. IT. I ended up taking it back to the vet -- it looked and smelled diabolical, by the way and I wouldn't eat it either if I was a cat! -- and that is when I started buying high-end tinned foods. My Sun, by the way, lived an almost Guinness-Book-of-World-Records almost 16 years, pretty unheard of for the times, very happily and well. He got Immunoregulin and B-12 injections on a regular basis and very frequent vet checkups.

Yeah, one whiff of tuna and they don't want anything else...that's the downside. But since YOU're the chef, so to speak, you can control the amount he gets and only use it as an emergency measure when he absolutely won't eat. He needs to eat something, and preferably his Rx food, but if not...have you asked his NVet about ANY other types of food that Artie could have? Cats, in my experience, love variety as much as we do. I've known cats who've been relegated to one type of Rx food, and they ate it because they had nothing else. But I'm sure it was really uninteresting, like us having to eat just one thing every day.

And i'm sure you're joking about ignoring him. He is your sweet love-of-your-life little man. He loves you unconditionally. He's so "worth it".

 

[Mamanyt1953]

OK...this is not a very popular answer, but...sometimes, for just a little while, "not dealing with him" might just save your sanity and recharge your batteries so that you can deal with him again. Everyone who cares for a sick loved one, no matter how many feet that loved one has, needs a break here and there. EVERYONE. So, no, it isn't the answer on a permanent basis, but it might be the answer for an hour or so.

 

[Margret]

I'm catching up on a week's worth of Artie news, and have only gotten to last Tuesday so far, but I have so many quotes in queue that I need to post now before going on to page 98. So...

Coming here from my email notification (sometimes I get them, sometimes I don't--sigh) and was going to say glad Artie ate some, then I saw the update about his vomiting. My heart sinks whenever I read about him not doing well. What a long, trying road this has been for you two. Hoping you can get some answers on Wednesday.

I wince and sympathize thinking about your toe. Last year I stubbed mine into the corner of a table and wow--most painful stub ever. It subsided a bit and I was thinking, "Okay, no big deal," then as the hours went by it became more and more painful again, bruised and swollen too. If I tried to wiggle it, it hurt so bad it made me invent a few new curse words; couldn't put any weight on that foot. In the end it wasn't broken after all, but it sure hurt and took me a few days to be able to walk normally.

The standard settings are to inform you of the first new post in watched threads and then not inform you again until you've actually visited the thread. You can change this in your settings, but being informed of every post in watched threads can leave you searching your inbox very carefully for anything that isn't from TCS.

I remember a foot bone bruise that I thought for sure was a broken bone, it was so painful. I had to pile up pillows next to my foot at night to keep the covers from resting on my foot! However, while it hurt as much as a broken bone, it healed much more quickly. Hmmm... I wonder whether that's why I first thought that my broken arm was a really bad sprain?

Cats are so funny. I tried to give both of mine tuna once and they sniffed it and then did the "This-Is-CaCa" scratch on the ground and walked away. Same with sardines.

Sending all the healing vibes I can possibly muster for Mr. Artie.

SO happy that things are going better today! Takes a load off of my mind. Keep up the good work, Artie!

It's so funny, Hekitty won't touch tuna, but she LOVES the juice from the can. If I say "tuna soup" she is THERE!

Jasmine won't touch anything fishy. The cats I've had that most liked fish were also cats who had medical conditions that made fish a no-no for them.

Considering Artie's medical conditions, can this dental issue be considered an emergency since he's has permanent ailments?

Just thinking...

Good idea.

@foxxycat If Artie did not have his constipation and megacolon issues, I would definitely give him nothing but tuna. He has to eat the dry food because of the extra fiber in it. It has a good mix of psylium, chicory root, an fish oil in it. If he does not eat it, then he will have to have constant enemas.

I am going to see what the NVet has to say. I can always ask to be on a cancellation list, if the dentist has one. I am not going to go to my R Vet for this. Artie has so many complications. I feel a specialist Animal Dentist is the way to go.. and it will be in Boston.

Right now, he is expecting nothing but Tuna. He is refusing the tuna with the added dry food.. sigh...

I wish I could lose my appetite as easily as Artie does.. sigh.. I go the opposite way...

Stubbed my broken toe again at the grocery store.. icing it now.

Would it be possible to get psyllium, chicory root, and fish oil separately and mix them in with the tuna, or some other wet food that Artie isn't allergic to?

I hope your toe is feeling better by now. For what it's worth, if you've broken it before it's less likely that this is actually a break; when bones knit they also become stronger. It's extremely unusual to break the same bone in the same place more than once. And you're right that icing it is the best thing for it immediately after an injury.



Margret

 

[Margret]

Got the results of the most of the blood tests. They are all normal!!!!
Is that good or bad?? Obviously, I want it to be good, but I also want an answer.. I guess I will never have anything concrete to go by.My head is just in a fog.. I mean it. I was in a fog, feeling overwhelmed yesterday.. it was not a good appointment for me.. meaning that I was just not 'into' everything.. I did not know how to explain things or how to answer questions..NVet must think I am a looney bin person...

1. You are not a loony bin person, and the NVet knows that. You're a cat mommy with a sick baby. There's a big difference, and you need to remember that people like you comprise most of the NVet's clients. He's used to it.
2. I think probably the normal tests are good. You already have extremely solid diagnoses; Artie has IBD, with incipient megacolon, and food allergies. Normal tests probably mean that that's pretty much the limit of it. When you spoke with the NVet by phone, did you ask about this?

I'm so sorry things aren't going so well with Artie The N vet most certainly WON'T think you're 'a loony', or anything else negative or derogatory He must deal with desperate and distressed owners all the time, and I'm sure many don't hold it together half as well as you do

Take the next few days to get your head straight, make notes of things you want to discuss/question as they occur to you, and most of all BREATHE! Yes, Artie isn't doing so well right now, but 10.6lbs is still hugely better than he was around Christmas/New Year's , and you have a vet you trust and can work with too. This is just another bump in the road.

If you're still unhappy about Artie's tooth, raise it with N vet again, and explain what's concerning you. He's a good guy, and I'm sure he'll talk it over with you some more, if only to put your own mind at rest.

With the food/starvation issue, explain to him exactly what you've experienced over the years with Artie in that regard. You know him far better than N vet does, and I'm sure he'll take want you say on board. It just sounds like your head wasn't in it when you saw him, so you weren't able to have the discussions that were needed to help move forward.

Hang in there We all have bad days and frustrated days when caring for chronically sick furbabies - I lost count of the number of times I walked away from Pix or Cal in absolute frustration. It happens, and it's NOTHING to feel bad about. We're all behind you. Just keep going

yes, just a lot dejected today. I am wondering about the rabies vaccine. I meant to really question it, but my mind was not there. I also wanted to disagree about the starvation bit, but again, my mind was at the beach. or in space.

Now I am kicking myself for not being more aware and in the moment.

I guess I felt overwhelmed. No excuse.

Feeling overwhelmed is a perfectly good excuse. You are overwhelmed; don't apologize for your correct perceptions.

N vet doesn't know you well yet, but he will get to know you in time. There's no such thing as screwing up a vet appointment (unless you forget and don't show up at all ). We all have bad days, and any decent vet will understand that. An email or phone conversation should straighten things out. He's already given Artie his exam, so he should easily be able to talk all of this out with you without another visit. Take photos and send them to him if you think it will help, too. Sometimes a couple of pictures can make all the difference.

Hang in there hun. Stop questioning, second guessing and berating yourself like this I KNOW it's much easier said than done, but it will only make you feel even more dejected and exhausted than you already do. Artie certainly isn't judging you in this way, so don't you do it either Remember to take good care of yourself too. You can't help Artie if you get sick yourself

I just sent an e-mail. It is kind of long, about 7 questions, along with my thoughts. I know it will be forwarded to Nvet.

Thanks, guys...
Yes, I do beat myself up.. I need to stop doing that.

...

I did crush up some of the dry food, to try to entice him a bit more with aroma....sigh..

Don't worry. When you feel a need to beat yourself up, come here. We'll soon set you straight.

If Artie needs the dry food and is having trouble eating it because his mouth hurts (which it obviously does), I would think that it would be a good idea to routinely add water to it. Artie doesn't seem to mind that, even approves it, so...

Margret

 

[Margret]

OK...this is not a very popular answer, but...sometimes, for just a little while, "not dealing with him" might just save your sanity and recharge your batteries so that you can deal with him again. Everyone who cares for a sick loved one, no matter how many feet that loved one has, needs a break here and there. EVERYONE. So, no, it isn't the answer on a permanent basis, but it might be the answer for an hour or so.

You're exactly right. I remember, very vividly, my father's final illness. I was just one of three primary caregivers for him, the other two being my mother and one brother, and I could not have gotten through it if I'd had to be there for him 24/7. I joined a support group for caregivers that met clear on the other side of town. They were immensely helpful, with hints on everything from getting to sleep at night to dealing with a recalcitrant patient to how to get calories into someone whose taste buds had been damaged by chemo, but most of all, going there was a respite from the constant illness, one that I didn't have to justify to anyone.

This site, and this thread, supply you with the support you need, but we don't supply you with the respite; that's something you have to do for yourself, and we'll back you up. I know that your church provides you with some of that, but it's also an obligation at a time when you need to be cutting back, just a bit, on obligations. I can tell you what would work for me, though I don't know whether it would work for you. If it were me I'd be getting a good book and taking it along to the local park whenever the weather is nice, parking myself under a tree with the book and a container of coffee or tea, and setting an alarm on my phone so that I'd know when it was time to close the book and go home -- that way I wouldn't worry that I'd get too involved and stay too long. And then I'd just lose myself in the book for an hour or so. I might even load a pretty mp3 onto the phone and listen to music while I read.

I've always found books to be comforting, and a good escape from reality when it's just too painful to constantly deal with reality.

Margret

 

[Margret]

lavishsqualor , the NVet is the New (specialist) Vet to whom @LTS3 gave Cindy a referral. The SVet is the specialist Artie had before, who had Artie on so many medications Cindy couldn't see straight, including some that were probably making things worse. And the RVet is Artie's regular vet, whom Cindy likes very much, but Artie really does need a specialist as well.

Margret