Introducing Betty White

[daftcat75]

I'm in the last hour or so before the vet appointment where my nerves are palpable and Betty continues to doze away peacefully in her poof. Can we trade? I'll take the poking and prodding if Betty does the driving. And pays the bill.

 

[Margot Lane]

Deep breaths. Courage, you must stay strong!

 

[daftcat75]

Bright pink nose. Worried eyes. Cautious crouch.

And then we also have Betty here:

 

[artiemom]

Last week: 10.42. This week: 10.46

Prior week daily average: 165 calories.

Last week daily average: 150 calories
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My theory is the same: Betty's gut is behaving in a much more normal pattern. Her body does not need all the extra food. She is now able to metabolize a smaller amount.
Just a theory

 

[daftcat75]

My theory is the same: Betty's gut is behaving in a much more normal pattern. Her body does not need all the extra food. She is now able to metabolize a smaller amount.
Just a theory

That’s what the doc says. She says Betty could even stand to lose a little weight and we could go down to 150 calories a day. Both of us will be relieved as she can leave remainders and I won’t worry about them. I think for starters, I’ll shave 5 grams off lunch. Let’s see where that gets us. I can always take away another five grams from her second dinner or feeder.

 

[daftcat75]

Doc says Betty has a little dirt in her ears but not enough to do anything about it just yet. We're still not certain if there's a low-grade food allergy or environmental allergy. But Betty doesn't seem terribly bothered so let's not stir that pot. And that's the doc's opinion too. She said, "with everything Betty's been through this year just to get to this level of stability, let's not change anything before the dental." Except reduce her calories. I guess I'm always used to feeling chonks because the doc assured me that Betty has good muscle and good body condition except that she's a little fluffier than necessary around the belly. She's a little floofier than doc would prefer. I get that. I have been noticing that Betty is looking more bean bag than triangle when she sits like this:


We have a dental appointment for early December. Gah! Vet care moves so much slower than it used to.

Doc did say the scary "r" word. She says it looks like a few of Betty's teeth have already been resorbed, and we won't know the whole extent of it until the cleaning and examination and X-rays. I will hold off on getting her on a dentist's schedule until after that exam.

One thing I have to remind myself over and over again is that Betty is not Krista. Although she seems to be walking down the same path with IBD and dental issues, she's a different cat. Her challenges are different. And, at least for now, Betty's biggest challenge is the time it takes to get care. It takes almost a month to get appointments. But I'm not convinced any other vets are any better. Yet another reason to take a more guarded, more conservative approach to her care.

Poor Betty has been awfully restless and needy since she got home. I understand. But unfortunately, I didn't take the afternoon off and I can't console her all afternoon.

 

[daftcat75]

They wiped her down with a fragranced pet wipe. It took away all the stress shedding. But she doesn’t smell like herself. That must be distressing for an animal that loves to scent mark her environment.

I also didn’t realize she’s already missing teeth to resorption. This is something that’s been missing this whole time from drop off vet visits: the ability to ask the vet questions and have her show me the answers.

 

[Margot Lane]

I did a quickie research on this…some say it’s due to too much Vitamin D in catfood, but, there is no consensus. I hope poor Betty isn’t in too much pain. This is a strange time in the world to try to see vets, for sure. I sense your frustration. I’ve been on a waiting list since August to HAVE a local vet. They keep pushing me back…thank goodness for traveling vets. Sleep well, you two.

 

[daftcat75]

Even despite her afternoon restlessness, or maybe because of it, she was able to finish her lunch. She left a remainder on the dinners and the feeder. But she came out of the stressful day perfect at 148 calories. She got a couple of extra rabbit treats yesterday. Plus there's always uncounted calories in the Greenies and the tiny amount of A/D that coats her capsules. I'm feeling more relaxed about her eating realizing she can get away with even less than I've been trying to put into her. It would seem that she knows how much she needs. At least at a minimum. She left a remainder on breakfast but she has finished lunch. Since she's not always cleaning her plate, I can't simply trim her portions to not have remainders. I think she would leave a remainder on smaller portions too. And in any case, the remainders would go to the sink if they don't go to the cat. Instead, I'll just trim a little off lunch and see where we are at when all the week's calories have been counted.

She still doesn't smell right. She probably needs a full-body under-arm nouggie and scent-transfer from her cat dad.

One of the nurses or techs before the doctor came in yesterday took a "dirt" sample from Betty's ears. But she kinda had to dig for it and it seems like that ear is now bothering her/sensitive/possibly irritated. She keeps the flap low if I'm going in for pets and it doesn't take much touch there to set off a head shake. I have left a message with the office and I am awaiting a callback on what to do for her. I don't want to put something in her ears if that's not recommended. I kinda wonder if my chamomile/apple cider vinegar solution I had used earlier didn't cause problems. Other than that, Betty seems much better today. She's back to her Garfield self of sleeping, eating, and occasionally showing up to demand a fuss break.

 

[tarasgirl06]

Even despite her afternoon restlessness, or maybe because of it, she was able to finish her lunch. She left a remainder on the dinners and the feeder. But she came out of the stressful day perfect at 148 calories. She got a couple of extra rabbit treats yesterday. Plus there's always uncounted calories in the Greenies and the tiny amount of A/D that coats her capsules. I'm feeling more relaxed about her eating realizing she can get away with even less than I've been trying to put into her. It would seem that she knows how much she needs. At least at a minimum. She left a remainder on breakfast but she has finished lunch. Since she's not always cleaning her plate, I can't simply trim her portions to not have remainders. I think she would leave a remainder on smaller portions too. And in any case, the remainders would go to the sink if they don't go to the cat. Instead, I'll just trim a little off lunch and see where we are at when all the week's calories have been counted.

She still doesn't smell right. She probably needs a full-body under-arm nouggie and scent-transfer from her cat dad.

One of the nurses or techs before the doctor came in yesterday took a "dirt" sample from Betty's ears. But she kinda had to dig for it and it seems like that ear is now bothering her/sensitive/possibly irritated. She keeps the flap low if I'm going in for pets and it doesn't take much touch there to set off a head shake. I have left a message with the office and I am awaiting a callback on what to do for her. I don't want to put something in her ears if that's not recommended. I kinda wonder if my chamomile/apple cider vinegar solution I had used earlier didn't cause problems. Other than that, Betty seems much better today. She's back to her Garfield self of sleeping, eating, and occasionally showing up to demand a fuss break.

What a relief that she's a good weight and could even lose a bit (although it IS floof-time for cats! I know Elvis is floofier now than he was a month ago, and even short-haired cats like him do get a winter undercoat). Also great that vet doesn't think her ears are problematical right now (Did you see the person take the sample? Were they a bit strong with that? Hope Betty's discomfort is only temporary. People need to realize cats aren't dogs and that their little ears are very sensitive! Grrrr.) The solution doesn't sound problematical at all, and I know you're so careful with Betty! Yeah, a shock about her teeth! Really hoping you can maybe get moved up from December. Yeah, vets and vet appointments are really a challenge these days. Wishing life would get back to "normal" all the way around. We didn't stop for time. Time should not stop for us.
Those wipes can be a pain. Cat's generally do not like perfumey fragrances. Hoping it wears off quickly! and wishing you both a great evening/night.

 

[daftcat75]

What a relief that she's a good weight and could even lose a bit (although it IS floof-time for cats! I know Elvis is floofier now than he was a month ago, and even short-haired cats like him do get a winter undercoat). Also great that vet doesn't think her ears are problematical right now (Did you see the person take the sample? Were they a bit strong with that? Hope Betty's discomfort is only temporary. People need to realize cats aren't dogs and that their little ears are very sensitive! Grrrr.) The solution doesn't sound problematical at all, and I know you're so careful with Betty! Yeah, a shock about her teeth! Really hoping you can maybe get moved up from December. Yeah, vets and vet appointments are really a challenge these days. Wishing life would get back to "normal" all the way around. We didn't stop for time. Time should not stop for us.
Those wipes can be a pain. Cat's generally do not like perfumey fragrances. Hoping it wears off quickly! and wishing you both a great evening/night.

Yes I saw the tech/nurse take the sample. And yes, it seemed like more effort than it was worth. Especially because she said she wouldn’t look at the slides unless the doctor wanted them. I think the doc is taking a very practical approach. Because it takes so long to get appointments, it makes sense to work on only one issue at a time. At this moment, that’s her teeth. When I started discussing wanting to change her food to see if I could get her on something with lower carbs and higher protein, she told me, wait until after the dental. Let’s not rock the boat and possibly put the dental off again. And in any case, I’m sure she believes like I do that it would be easier to examine and collect samples from a sedated cat. It would make sense to wait for the dental if she wanted to examine the ears at that time too. I wish the tech/nurse thought that way too.

Betty seems to be cruising through her meals tonight. I decided to leave five grams off second dinner because she’s pacing for 155 if she eats her typical overnight amount. I awoke at midnight to find her face buried in the feeder.

 

[daftcat75]

Left a decent remainder on second dinner but nearly finished the feeder. She was on to me. 156 calories.


Look at that first pass on breakfast. She must be feeling better now that I’m not feeding her expired probiotics.


That’s about a 9 gram remainder or a 27 gram first pass. Haven’t seen one of those in awhile. Well within a second pass. No third pass needed. But she has budget to leave this if she wants to.

 

[daftcat75]

How about that!

Betty finished breakfast for the first time since...looks at food journal... Sunday. Oh, her streak hasn't been that long. She finished breakfast on Saturday too. But then she had a streak of several days last week of leaving breakfast remainders.

Even though the volume of food I have offered her has not changed very much, it seems like she knows she's on a diet and isn't having it.

 

[tarasgirl06]

How about that!

Betty finished breakfast for the first time since...looks at food journal... Sunday. Oh, her streak hasn't been that long. She finished breakfast on Saturday too. But then she had a streak of several days last week of leaving breakfast remainders.

Even though the volume of food I have offered her has not changed very much, it seems like she knows she's on a diet and isn't having it.

Is Betty still eating the mouse varieties? Just curious.
That food looks delectable, BTW. Betty can be glad I don't know where she lives

 

[daftcat75]

I tiptoed from the office to the bathroom because I didn't want to disturb my Garfield's finely tuned schedule of sleeping and eating.

I peeked first in the poof. No Betty. Look over to the plate. Oh my! It looks a lot like that breakfast plate looked. She woke up for first pass and crushed it! Given that she didn't leave a breakfast remainder, she could skip that remainder and still be good for 150. If she doesn't leave remainders, it's going to have to come out of her overnight.

Maybe I have to feed her an expired probiotic to get her calories where the doc wants them.

No, she's not eating the Mouser. She is eating only Hills I/D chicken and vegetable stew. And the tiny amount of A/D that I twist her meds in. I'm not crazy about the rice in I/D. But that does looks more like a real food than most cat foods. While I would like her to try the Fancy Feast Gravy Lovers, their chicken pieces won't look like that--like chicken. Doc has strongly discouraged me from changing her food between now and the dental. One thing at a time and we've waited long enough for this.

 

[daftcat75]

The more I look at this recipe, the more I have come to accept that it's not quite as junky as I keep making it out to be.

INGREDIENTS: Water, Chicken, Pork Liver, Carrots, Wheat Gluten, Rice Starch, Rice, Chicken Fat, Hydrolyzed Chicken Flavor, Powdered Cellulose, Potassium Alginate, Calcium Chloride, Monosodium Phosphate, Soybean Oil, Dicalcium Phosphate, Guar Gum, Calcium Lactate, Calcium Gluconate, Fructooligosaccharides (FOS), L-Lysine, Psyllium Seed Husk, Choline Chloride, Potassium Chloride, Taurine, vitamins (Vitamin E Supplement, Thiamine Mononitrate, Ascorbic Acid (source of Vitamin C), L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate (source of Vitamin C), Niacin Supplement, Vitamin A Supplement, Calcium Pantothenate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Riboflavin Supplement, Menadione Sodium Bisulfite Complex (source of Vitamin K), Folic Acid, Biotin, Vitamin D3 Supplement), Sodium Tripolyphosphate, minerals (Ferrous Sulfate, Zinc Oxide, Copper Sulfate, Manganese Sulfate, Calcium Iodate), Magnesium Oxide, Beta-Carotene.

Really, it's just those three ingredients that I'm not crazy about. But I've seen a lot worse in cat food. It could be peas, pea protein isolate, or soy protein isolate (all of which I have seen in other "cat foods".) I am happy it looks like food, smells like food, and Betty really enjoys the stuff. And I was able to pick up one more case the other day while we were there. So our war chest momentarily got back up to a month. And then I started into a new case today.

 

[tarasgirl06]

The more I look at this recipe, the more I have come to accept that it's not quite as junky as I keep making it out to be.



Really, it's just those three ingredients that I'm not crazy about. But I've seen a lot worse in cat food. It could be peas, pea protein isolate, or soy protein isolate (all of which I have seen in other "cat foods".) I am happy it looks like food, smells like food, and Betty really enjoys the stuff. And I was able to pick up one more case the other day while we were there. So our war chest momentarily got back up to a month. And then I started into a new case today.

My beef would be the pork But yeah, it doesn't look abysmal overall. So what happened with the mouse--did she just get tired of it, or ??? I would think almost every cat would love it. But then, Betty's not "almost every cat," is she?

 

[daftcat75]

My beef would be the pork But yeah, it doesn't look abysmal overall. So what happened with the mouse--did she just get tired of it, or ??? I would think almost every cat would love it. But then, Betty's not "almost every cat," is she?

She got tired of it a long time ago. At the same time that she decided she wanted only the Rawz from Krista's old batch (e.g. a batch we'll never see again), she also decided that she was "over" Mouser. We can certainly try again. But not before the dental. That's the other reason I appreciate the I/D. After all this time, she continues to show up and eat it even when she had other choices.

 

[daftcat75]

Diet? She’s not having it. After a week and a half of leaving remainders, she was cleaning plates yesterday. I left some off her overnight hoping she would track with previous nights. Nope. She finished the plate and half the feeder. It’s a good thing I shaved five grams off each. But that’s not enough. Her final score yesterday was 165 calories.

And holy cow! I hope she plans to sleep all morning until lunch.

 

[tarasgirl06]

Diet? She’s not having it. After a week and a half of leaving remainders, she was cleaning plates yesterday. I left some off her overnight hoping she would track with previous nights. Nope. She finished the plate and half the feeder. It’s a good thing I shaved five grams off each. But that’s not enough. Her final score yesterday was 165 calories.

And holy cow! I hope she plans to sleep all morning until lunch.
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Even if she gets a little more prosperous over the colder weather time, she'll more than likely slim down when warm weather comes. Hopefully she'll revisit the mouse!