Introducing Betty White

[tarasgirl06]

The shoulder pig left half a feeder last night but the plate was cleaned. This morning I felt guilty about possibly intentionally tanking her appetite today that I poured out half the s boulardii before inserting a Zofran bit. I am challenging her with half the morning s boulardii she had on Tuesday morning. Maybe that made the difference. Maybe it wasn’t s boulardii in the first place. Maybe Tuesday was something different. In any case, she seems to be doing alright on a half capsule of SB this morning. She ate 3/4 breakfast on first pass (before the morning SB hit bottom, so to speak.) She just tore across the front room like I only see with . So I know what surprise she’s left in her sandbox for me for when I finish my breakfast. And then she finished the half ounce remaining from her breakfast. So far so good. Let’s see how she does with lunch today.

*Always nice to have a little something to look forward to after a meal*

I have onion bagels.
Just thought I'd broadcast that. Only 24 minutes to lunch.

 

[daftcat75]

I don’t know if you watch(ed) Futurama. But there’s an episode about the island of outdated robots. And one of them is powered by a water wheel. If the wheel stops, she could lose power forever. Every time it stops, she panics, “Oh g-d! This is it! This is the end! I’m never gonna make it!” And of course she does, only to repeat just a few moments later.

This is how I feel several times a day about Betty’s eating. Oh cat! She’s never gonna finish! And of course she almost always does.

 

[tarasgirl06]

I don’t know if you watch(ed) Futurama. But there’s an episode about the island of obsolete robots. And one of them is powered by a water wheel. If the wheel stops, she could lose power forever. Every time it stops, she panics, “Oh g-d! This is! This is the end! I’m never gonna make it!” And of course she does, only to repeat just a few moments later.

This is how I feel several times a day about Betty’s eating. Oh cat! She’s never gonna finish! And of course she almost always does.

Kinda like another version of "The Wizard of Oz"-- or not. *I actually have a "double play" deck that plays DVDs and videocassettes. I have a few of the former and a lot of the latter. Don't tell anyone.*
What's your secret? I need to know, so I can entice Elvis.

 

[daftcat75]

She got through overnight and breakfast meals alright. I thought we we had the yeasty beastie issue solved. Half a cap in the morning and a full in the evening. And then she left about a 1/4 of lunch and all of the feeder today. When I entered it in her food journal this evening, it seems like she’s coming back to pre-pred eating levels. I don’t know if that means she’s regressing to a pre-pred state. Or is 2.5 a step down too far (or too soon) for her? Or are we starting to see the IBD once more as the pred is tapered? Is it time to explore a diet change once more?

And she just left a half plate remainder on dinner. We’ll skip the morning yeast and see if that makes a difference again. And we’ll see at the Sunday weigh-in if these remainders really are cause for concern. I did want to pump the brakes on her weight gain. Maybe she does too.

 

[tarasgirl06]

She got through overnight and breakfast meals alright. I thought we we had the yeasty beastie issue solved. Half a cap in the morning and a full in the evening. And then she left about a 1/4 of lunch and all of the feeder today. When I entered it in her food journal this evening, it seems like she’s coming back to pre-pred eating levels. I don’t know if that means she’s regressing to a pre-pred state. Or is 2.5 a step down too far (or too soon) for her? Or are we starting to see the IBD once more as the pred is tapered? Is it time to explore a diet change once more?

And she just left a half plate remainder on dinner. We’ll skip the morning yeast and see if that makes a difference again. And we’ll see at the Sunday weigh-in if these remainders really are cause for concern. I did want to pump the brakes on her weight gain. Maybe she does too.

Hmmm. Which of these is it? Hoping Betty feels hale and hearty and that she's just grazing, as cats will do.

 

[daftcat75]

There is a forgiveable remainder after her second pass on first dinner. I can take it or leave it. She gets extra calories in the A/D capsule coating and her morning treats that allow me to forgive a gram here or there. She still has plenty of time to finish it though if she feels so inclined. And she will. I don’t know if it’s a nighttime thing or a pred thing or both. But she always eats better on night shift. And especially first dinner. I plate first dinner at 5:30 and she’s usually done by 8 and patiently quietly bothering me about 2nd dinner for the next hour.

She doesn’t sing and dance for food like Krista did. She’s a more subtle passive aggressive. She may sit on my lap or spoon with me in the morning. And you think, “aw! That’s sweet!” But I know better. There’s the normal fuss demands and then there’s the, “well, if I can’t have food…” fuss demands. Most hours of the night, she may simply climb over me on her way to bed when she sees I’m not on my back for her. But if it’s close enough to a meal and she’s hungry enough, she’s going to back herself into little spoon. She’s both sublimating her hunger, and telegraphing it to me.


Who or what taught this cat her quiet, clever ways?

 

[daftcat75]

She left the forgivable remainder on first dinner. Left another forgivable remainder on second dinner. Running out of extra calories to forgive here. But she left almost all of the feeder. Final score for yesterday: 150 (of a 180 target.) This morning she’s getting her ondansetron in a blank again.

Breakfast looks like 50% on first pass.

 

[tarasgirl06]

There is a forgiveable remainder after her second pass on first dinner. I can take it or leave it. She gets extra calories in the A/D capsule coating and her morning treats that allow me to forgive a gram here or there. She still has plenty of time to finish it though if she feels so inclined. And she will. I don’t know if it’s a nighttime thing or a pred thing or both. But she always eats better on night shift. And especially first dinner. I plate first dinner at 5:30 and she’s usually done by 8 and patiently quietly bothering me about 2nd dinner for the next hour.

She doesn’t sing and dance for food like Krista did. She’s a more subtle passive aggressive. She may sit on my lap or spoon with me in the morning. And you think, “aw! That’s sweet!” But I know better. There’s the normal fuss demands and then there’s the, “well, if I can’t have food…” fuss demands. Most hours of the night, she may simply climb over me on her way to bed when she sees I’m not on my back for her. But if it’s close enough to a meal and she’s hungry enough, she’s going to back herself into little spoon. She’s both sublimating her hunger, and telegraphing it to me.


Who or what taught this cat her quiet, clever ways?

Betty sounds like quite a complicated and calculating girlcatto. *Aren't you glad?*

 

[daftcat75]

It took her all morning. But she finished breakfast. To be fair, if this was a weekday, I probably wouldn’t have noticed. She would have come into the office after my morning conference call, licking her lips and announcing her clean plate. And I’d look at the clock and say, yep, about 11:15. Which was when she finished this morning. I’m hyper aware of her eating delays on the weekend when I’m off my own routine.

I went to VCA to pick up a couple of cases of food because I was down to one left and one open one we’re working through. VCA had one case left and one open one. “Shortage?” “Shortage.” I went to the other VCA and picked up two more cases. I am once again sitting on a month’s hoard.

I come home to drop the cases off and also wake Betty if she’s still sleeping off breakfast. Sure enough. She’s on her corner cloud. She wakes with a BIIIIG STRRRRETCH! I get the cases put away in the kitchen and the cloud is empty. She’s in that no man’s land between the bed and the bookcase, soon to emerge in front of her plate. That’s my cue to book it to the bathroom. I look back over my shoulder just as I’m going around the corner to the bathroom and we lock eyes. “You go eat. I’m going to hide in the bathroom from you until you’re done. Then I’ll come out and we can fuss it up.” Can’t distract her from the eating. Fuss alone won’t keep meat on her bones.

 

[tarasgirl06]

It took her all morning. But she finished breakfast. To be fair, if this was a weekday, I probably wouldn’t have noticed. She would have come into the office after my morning conference call, licking her lips and announcing her clean plate. And I’d look at the clock and say, yep, about 11:15. Which was when she finished this morning. I’m hyper aware of her eating delays on the weekend when I’m off my own routine.

I went to VCA to pick up a couple of cases of food because I was down to one left and one open one we’re working through. VCA had one case left and one open one. “Shortage?” “Shortage.” I went to the other VCA and picked up two more cases. I am once again sitting on a month’s hoard.

I come home to drop the cases off and also wake Betty if she’s still sleeping off breakfast. Sure enough. She’s on her corner cloud. She wakes with a BIIIIG STRRRRETCH! I get the cases put away in the kitchen and the cloud is empty. She’s in that no man’s land between the bed and the bookcase, soon to emerge in front of her plate. That’s my cue to book it to the bathroom. I look back over my shoulder just as I’m going around the corner to the bathroom and we lock eyes. “You go eat. I’m going to hide in the bathroom from you until you’re done. Then I’ll come out and we can fuss it up.” Can’t distract her from the eating. Fuss won’t keep meat on her bones.

Yeah, the crises/shortages/price hikes/problems with quality never stop these days! Glad you were able to snag those cases. Hope they're good quality and that Ms. Betty accepts them. Relishes them, even.
"No man's land" doesn't seem to be "no cat's land" though...
No, fuss won't but it sometimes helps to be an impetus dish-ward. At least, it is here. Fuss+sweet talk=newfound enthusiasm/rediscovery of Something Good In The Bowl. Sometimes.

 

[daftcat75]

Yeah, the crises/shortages/price hikes/problems with quality never stop these days! Glad you were able to snag those cases. Hope they're good quality and that Ms. Betty accepts them. Relishes them, even.
"No man's land" doesn't seem to be "no cat's land" though...
No, fuss won't but it sometimes helps to be an impetus dish-ward. At least, it is here. Fuss+sweet talk=newfound enthusiasm/rediscovery of Something Good In The Bowl. Sometimes.

Presumably she’s only five years old. I don’t want to get her too habituated with hands-on eating encouragement. I’m trying to get her to more of a hands off place. One day I’d like to be able to travel again. And I want her to be as easy breezy with the sitter that Krista was.

I weighed her plate in progress after first pass. She ate only 1/3. But…her remainder is within reach for a second pass. Not sure if she’ll eat any of the feeder.

 

[tarasgirl06]

Presumably she’s only five years old. I don’t want to get her too habituated with hands-on eating encouragement. I’m trying to get her to more of a hands off place. One day I’d like to be able to travel again. And I want her to be as easy breezy with the sitter that Krista was.

I weighed her plate in progress after first pass. She ate only 1/3. But…her remainder is within reach for a second pass. Not sure if she’ll eat any of the feeder.

One can hope. On all of the above.

 

[daftcat75]

She left 1/3 remainder on lunch and almost all of the feeder.

If she leaves no remainders on overnight, she’ll hit the arbitrary 180 calories target that seems about right for her energy level. If she leaves remainders, well, we’ll see what impact all these remainders are having tomorrow anyway with the Sunday weigh-in.

I’m certainly going to give her another week at 2.5 mg pred. I will also be talking to IM doc next week. I don’t want to backtrack on the pred. I don’t want to use pred as an appetite stimulant. That’s not what it’s there for. What it is there for is to suppress the response long enough for diet change and/or healing to happen. So far, she’s still hairball free at 2.5 mg. If that holds through this week and possibly the week after (I don’t know if we’re ready for the next taper level), then perhaps we can explore other reasons for her soft appetite. Maybe she has a dental problem that we’ve known about and back-burnered for long enough.

 

[tarasgirl06]

She left 1/3 remainder on lunch and almost all of the feeder.

If she leaves no remainders on overnight, she’ll hit the arbitrary 180 calories target that seems about right for her energy level. If she leaves remainders, well, we’ll see what impact all these remainders are having tomorrow anyway with the Sunday weigh-in.

I’m certainly going to give her another week at 2.5 mg pred. I will also be talking to IM doc next week. I don’t want to backtrack on the pred. I don’t want to use pred as an appetite stimulant. That’s not what it’s there for. What it is there for is to suppress the response long enough for diet change and/or healing to happen. So far, she’s still hairball free at 2.5 mg. If that holds through this week and possibly the week after (I don’t know if we’re ready for the next taper level), then perhaps we can explore other reasons for her soft appetite. Maybe she has a dental problem that we’ve known about and back-burnered for long enough.

Good plan. I'd do the same.
*Clean that plate, Ms. Betty!*

 

[daftcat75]

Betty cleaned her plates last night. She ate most of the feeder too. She came in at a very respectable 170 calories yesterday. She’ll make up the difference in treats, A/D pill coating, and weigh-in kibble. I usually weigh her around 11am on Sundays. So we’ll know soon enough how much impact the remainders had last week.

Taken last night.

She decided she wasn’t close enough.

 

[tarasgirl06]

Betty cleaned her plates last night. She ate most of the feeder too. She came in at a very respectable 170 calories yesterday. She’ll make up the difference in treats, A/D pill coating, and weigh-in kibble. I usually weigh her around 11am on Sundays. So we’ll know soon enough how much impact the remainders had last week.

Taken last night.
View attachment 432922
She decided she wasn’t close enough.
View attachment 432921

*You can NEVER be too close with your CAT.*
Sounds like Ms. Betty is doing an excellent job! Will await the weigh-in...if and when you two can disengage and get vertical

 

[daftcat75]

She somehow gained weight (a lot of weight!) despite all those remainders???! She was a tough one to lure onto the scale this morning and she fled before I could tare it for a negative reading. I guess we’ll just have to wait for next weekend for a confirmation of this weight. In the meantime, I’ll let her run with the remainders as long as she’s getting close to her daily target. I’m going to go by both relief from symptoms and weekly weigh-ins more than clean plates. It may be that her appetite is slowly snapping back to normal after being augmented by steroids for so long.

 

[tarasgirl06]

View attachment 432923
She somehow gained weight (a lot of weight!) despite all those remainders???! She was a tough one to lure onto the scale this morning and she fled before I could tare it for a negative reading. I guess we’ll just have to wait for next weekend for a confirmation of this weight. In the meantime, I’ll let her run with the remainders as long as she’s getting close to her daily target. I’m going to go by both relief from symptoms and weekly weigh-ins more than clean plates. It may be that her appetite is slowly snapping back to normal after being augmented by steroids for so long.

Can't complain!!!

 

[daftcat75]

Can't complain!!!

I can and I am. I don’t trust that weight. If it’s accurate, that’s bonkers! And if it’s not, how off is it? I am thinking we’ll try a re-do weigh-in with tomorrow’s morning treats. I need an accurate number to know accurately how much to worry. If it was somehow off by as much as half a pound, I need to know before she’s a full pound in the hole. I don’t think it’s that far off. But I don’t think that’s the right number either.

Prepped her meds for the week. Going to go with blanks (no added SB or fiber) for morning ondansetron until we see where she’s going to settle with her eating.

 

[daftcat75]

Just as I’m walking out the door again after bringing home groceries, she’s approaching the plate. I am at the door frozen. She’s looking at me trying to decide whether to eat. She licks her food a few times. I start for the door and she stops. Okay. I’ll wait for you. So I sit down. Wrong answer. Forget the food. I’m coming over to you. I give her a little fuss and then start for the door again. She wanders off dejected. Okay. I’ll come back and give you more fuss. She immmediately collapses into me onto her back. Belly fuss, please! Okay. Okay. But I still need lunch. And you still need lunch. This cat. I eventually detached and I’m vowing not to check on the cameras for at least an hour after I finish my burger.