Danielle and the Vet

[vjoy]

We were impressed with the Vet. He seemed very good.
Danielle has an ear infection, her ears were NOT cleaned out, she has an eye infection, and a mouth infection. :

:
The Vet says all these things are treatable.
The one thing she does have that is not and is chronic, is polyps in the ears. He said we can put drops in to alleviate her discomfort, but there is no way to remove them, they will come back...or something like that..... OY. She will have that always, but that is not serious at all.
We go back to the Vet in a week. But in the meantime:
I have to put cleaning solution in her ears once a day.
I have to put drops in her ears for the infection 2 times a day.
I have to put cream in her eyes 3 times a day.
I have to give her a pill antibiotic once a day.
He gave her a shot to boost her immune system and took blood, listened to her heart, and felt her tummy, took her temperature, which was normal.
Sigh.... I just tried to put the cream in her eyes, I got more on her face than in her eye...she FOUGHT me. I knew she would, but I told myself, I can do this, I can do this.......and I can't yet, LOL....AArrgg!!!!!.....
I tried grabbing her by the scruff of the neck like the Vet showed me, but she got away. She is determined NOT to let me do this.... Sigh.... She went and hid. I took a break, fed her, and will try again, but I don't know if I can do this without Rich's help. I have to try again soon.....

I am soooo pissed at the Shelter Vet for NOT telling me she had all these things. She went to the Vet the day before we got her. Maybe they figured we would not want her, (which is not true). But they did not clean out her ears, which I was told they did, so they probably were careless about her infections....and they did not give me any treatment. I am furious.
Wish me luck with her meds... I hope she still trusts me, I have to go chase the little furball now and try again....
wwwaaaa

 

[vjoy]

I tried the cream again. I grabbed her as firmly as I could and she got away. I got cream on her face again. Now she is avoiding me again.

Maybe I just can't grasp strongly enough. I do have kind of weak hands. My husband might have a better grasp on her scuff of the neck.

She had come over to lay on me, and I "attacked" her again. I am afraid she will come to not trust me. :'(

I will get this medicine into her, but I hope she doesnt hate me or come to be scared of me.

 

[boo]

Poor Danielle,

It's hard to imagine a pound kitty's life before they come to us. I wonder if she's just naturally shy, or if she's been handled roughly, poor thing.

I have found the best thing is to act confidant, firm and calm. If you aren't nervous about giving the medication, they can't pick up those negative emotions. Having said that, of all my animals, I have one dog that is almost impossible to medicate.

She won't hate you or be scared of you. You've had her, what? Two weeks? Three weeks? It will take some time for her to feel settled and although this may make the process a little longer, it can't be avoided. As long as you stay a gentle calm constant in her life she will respond and will settle in.

How frustrating to have been misled about the medical care Danielle received. At least you didn't wait too long to have her checked by your own vet. I too make sure any new addition sees my vet within a couple of weeks.

Good luck with the cream and ear wash and ear drops (they'll be fun, one shake and you're wearing them

)

 

[frannie]

Poor baby but before I leave for the Florida show, here's a suggestion. Put the eye cream on your finger and then put it in her eye. She might be afraid of the pointie thing going near her eye. Good luck. Be firm and tell her it's for her best interest.

Frannie

 

[vjoy]

I had to give up for now...
What happened was that I tried several times, she became more and more afraid of me...eventually I realized this ain't getting done. I would have to wait until hubby comes home, and from now on get up at 5;15 am when he gets up :

:, and we will have to do this together. I am just not used to handling her alone yet in this manner.

Anyway, after these "episodes" this morning, I broke down. I started crying. I thought "She won't trust me anymore"..... Don't get me wrong, I am determined to get that medicine in her with hubby's help. But the thought of her not trusting me, not coming over to me, devastated me, and I broke down. I dunno, maybe it was a culmination of the last two weeks, I really had not cried.
She was under the bed hiding from the wicked mommy, and I was crying in the living room. Eventually I fell asleep on the couch, and woke up a little while ago.
:LOL:....she woke me by poking me in the nose with hers, she climbed up on me on the couch and curled up and went to sleep.

I just could not stand the thought of her thinking I don't love her, or not trusting me. I just could not stand it. Call me irrational, but that is how I feel.

But don't worry, her health is PARAMOUNT, and no matter what, we will get her meds in her.

This has just been an "emotional breakdown" kind of day.

Frannie, I will try the cream on the finger idea. Thanks Boo, also.

 

[sfell]

Val,

I am so sorry that you cried but don't you just love little nose butts. They make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. I bet after a couple of times with hubby's help you will be able to do it on your own. Cheer up

if she came to you with nose butts then you can do no wrong in her eyes!

 

[lotsocats]

Try giving her a little tuna juice immediately after you give her the medication. Have the bowl sitting next to you and make sure she can smell the yummy stuff. She will still struggle, but probably not as much...and...once you've done this a couple of times she will almost be happy about medicine time because it means she is going to get her yummy treat. I have a friend whose cat actually does a happy dance at medication time because she knows she will get her treat as soon as the pill is swallowed!

 

[boo]

Good idea lotsocats! I will have to try that with my reluctant dog next time.

vjoy, no one here thinks you are irrational. We are all just as nuts about our cats as you are. And we have all been in that position, new cat, not wanting to upset the settling in.

How sweet that she came up to cuddle you. I think our pets are very intutitive. I am sure she knew that you needed her.

 

[vjoy]

Hubby and I fought the first battle.
He held her wrapped in a sweater, and I administered, (or tried to) the treatments.

I could not get the pill in her mouth. So I crushed up a bit with her food. She ate some, and I called the Vet to ask if she didn't get quite all of it, was that okay? They said yes.

Sigh..... the eye cream. I put some on my fingers, and tried to apply it. I hope some got in. She kept sqinting..... Hubby thinks I got some in cause he didn't see any on her fur... I dunno.

The ear wash and antiboitic ear drops...OY OY OY.... She actually CRIED, one of the ears hurts her...

I had no time to massage the ear wash, she shaked her head before I could.
I hope I got enough of the antibiotic drops in.....Sigh... The Vets office said, just do the best you can...

Tomorrow we do this again....WHOOPEEEEEEEEEEEE

 

[my3boys]

Val, hang in there. I know what your going through.

And I believe we all know what your going through.

I have to honestly say that for all the years I have had cats, I still cringe when the vet says one of my cats needs medications.

Thank goodness they have been healthy for quite some time now.

The vets always seem to do it so easy, I don't know why its different for us.

For a time after I doctor my cats they always run from me, thats natural, after all they are always thinking I'm out to get them, LOL!!

They forget & forgive, in that order.

Eventually the meds will be finished & you will look back & think of all the things you went through (and you may even laugh).

I am open to any information anyone has on making this task easier.

To me this is "the" hardest thing to do to a cat.

 

[dodo]

Hi Vjoy,

I dont' know how you try giving her the pill & the eye cream but that's what I do always succesfully:

First of all, I catch the kitty, sit down on the floor with her/him & squeeze all her/his body (gently, yet firmly) between my legs, her/his face facing my face. If you are scared that she might scratch you, you can put her in a pillow linen pouch (I dunno what they are called

). Now, they can't move any part of their bodies except the head. I am a right handed person, so I hold her/his head firmly with my left hand, with her/his ears also under my palm, & squeeze the chin from both sides with my left hand again. When you squeeze, they open their mouth by themselves; if not you can work ith your right hand & try to open the mouth. And then with my right hand I put the pill down to their throat. After I put the pill inside, I make her/his mouth shut quickly, cause they tend to spit out the pill & gently stroke on the throat & puff a little bit of air on the nose (it makes them swallop).

For the eye cream, similar again. Hold the kitty between the legs firmly, hold the head with the left hand, and put the cream with the right hand. The important thing while putting eye cream is putting it from the side of the eyes instead of middle of it, so that they won't get scared of something trying to poke into their eyes ! After putting the cream, I gently stroke the eye lids so that the cream will diffuse into the whole eye.

These all take less than a minute ( and I am not exagerrating it). But you have to be firm & determined

The hardest part is cleaning the ears, cause it takes more time. While cleaning the ears, you can reach to the ear canal if you pull the ear firmly & if you put the ear swab parallel to the angle you pull the ear.

It's really hard to put these steps into words, but they work just fine for me

And as lotsocats said, you can have some treats beside you & give her some treats as soon as you finish the job.

I wash them, dry them with hair drier, cut their nails, clean their ears, give them pills etc. And they don't get scared of me at all ! Actually they bond with the person who deals with them mostly. That's why they show me more affection them my husband

. Although they will follow him whenever they want food, cause that's the only thing he does with cats (besides loving them of course

)

 

[sunlion]

My heart goes out to both of you. Goodness it's hard to treat a sick cat! Most of the time they manage to hide their illness, and when you do notice it, they object so strongly to the treatment. I know you knew Danielle needed help, but she still fights it doesn't she?

The pillow case is a good idea. I used to wrap my cat in a very large towel, but that's pretty easy to get out of.

Also, with one of the cats, the vet gave us a pill dispenser. It looks like the syringe part of a needle, only with no needle, just a hole. You put the pill in and hold the cat, then the narrow bit goes between the teeth at the side of the mouth and you push on the plunger quickly, kind of like injecting the pill into the mouth. It worked pretty well for us.

I think it's really important for you not to stress about this. If you are upset, she'll know and get upset too. But if you can sort of resign yourself to it, she'll take it in stride. At least these treatments are only for a limited time. Then she will be so used to you messing with her 4 or 5 times a day that when it doesn't happen, she'll come looking for you.

I wonder if it would help if you make sure to pet her when you aren't working on her, rubbing her eyes a bit or tweaking her ears, so she gets used to being fiddled with there. Also, if she doesn't like the cream being applied with a finger, what about a warm damp wash cloth? Might feel like momcat's tongue.

 

[vjoy]

Dodo and Sunlion,

Thank you for your advice.

Day #2 of the torture:

Last night was horrible. She struggled, thrashed, screamed, and cried.

This morning, she has really,started to mistrust us. She fought again, and now is completely ignoring me except to occasionally come over to give me an angry meow, then she leaves. I tried to talk soothingly to her and pet her, but she wants none of it. I just sense this will get worse over the next week. She was just coming to trust us, and now she is terrified and angry.

She doesn't like treats. I wish she did, might make things easier. We tried just about every treat, she won't eat them.

I will try the tuna juice, as was suggested earlier.

I dunno about getting her in a pillow case.... it is hard enough to get her at all...... even my husband, who is very strong, had trouble holding her. She is not big, but very, very limber and agile....

I was able to crush the pill into her food, which she ate right away, liking wet food. The Vet office said that was okay. If she stops eating it, I will ask for a liquid form. Last night we did try to get her mouth open as Dodo, you suggested, it didn't work, the stubborn little lady is STUBBORN!!

She doesn't trust us anymore.

My heart is breaking...

 

[lorie d.]

Vjoy

I know what you're going through.

Poor little Danielle can't understand that you're doing everything you possibly can to help her.

You are worried that Danielle will never trust you because you have to medicate her.

When I have to give a cat a treatment that the cat sees as unpleasant, I talk soothingly and pet the cat before, during, and after the treatment. I am trying to convey to the cat that what I am doing is a kind thing, not a mean thing. It does seem to help the cat understand a little bit, and I don't feel that I am loosing any trust.

 

[vjoy]

Thanks Lorie..

I have a question. WHAT?? Val has a question? She never asks questions!!!! :LOL: :LOL:

I try to the best of my ability to put the cream in her eyes. She scrunches up her eyes, and I suspect most of it gets on the outside.

I think SOMETHING get in, because her eyes look better (The steroid in it) afterwards. Less swelling and less red.

I guess my question is, if even a tiny bit gets in....is that enough longterm? Has anyone else had this problem? I mean this is an antibiotic cream, and I would hate if not enough gets in to cure her eyes.

We tried the "pull her up by the scruff of the neck" thing. My husband is strong. She slithers out. We just can't do it. Practice practice practice. But in the meantime, I have to basically rub the cream on the outside of her scrunched up eyes, and hope some gets in.

Sigh..... The trials and tribulations of new Mommyhood....

 

[vjoy]

OY

I am giving Danielle Orbax. This is the pill I am crushing up into her food. The Vet's office said this was okay.

I just looked up Orbax on the internet. It says do not give with food. aranoid3

Anyone got any opinions? Anyone ever use this drug?

Thanks once again.....

 

[sunlion]

I don't know that drug, but I'm thinking about people drugs . . . Sometimes they say not to take things with food because it makes you a little nauseous. So I think maybe it makes a difference why they suggest you don't give it with food. If it's a tummy thing but it's not bothering her, then you're probably okay. But there might be, you know, some kind of nutrient in the food that interferes with absorbing the medicine, so it's worth checking out.

Did you call the vet or the pharmacist? And did you actually get to talk to the vet or did the person who answered the phone give you an answer? Sometimes in a busy practice, you get a receptionist who thinks "that's what I would do so it must be okay" when they aren't familiar with your case or the medicine, they just don't want to bother the busy vet. I've had it happen, though it isn't terribly common, just depends on the practice. Most vets will take a few minutes to do a phone consultation if you are very clear that you want one. It might make you feel better, too.

How wonderful that Danielle's eyes are improving! It must be like a whole new world for her, to be able to see clearly without all that goo. She might get less sensitive as her eyes are less sore, too, so keep it up for her. I know it's hard. I know it seems like she's going to hate you forever, but she'll get over it once the treatments end. It's hard for her too, so many changes all at once plus all this health stuff. It sounds illogical, but a cat with enough energy to fight back is probably on the road to recovery. If she acted all blah about it, it would probably be a sign that she was very sick.

You're a good mommy and you're doing fine. Deep breath, pat yourself on the back, it's gonna be okay.

 

[vjoy]

Thank you Sunlion....

We just gave her her treatment.....she fought harder than last night or this morning..... how this is breaking our hearts!!!!

I put the pill in the food last night, and she ate it up. Tonight, nothing. She will not eat.

That means, we have to go after her AGAIN tonight to try to force that pill down her.... This is soooo hard... she is such a good girl, she is suffering soooo much. And she feels she can't trust anyone.

She was lethargic and slept all day. I think she is depressed, where as before, she was not.