Introducing Betty White

[daftcat75]

Both are beautiful pix of beautiful Betty and wow! that's some deLuxe carrier -- looks like it might even be able to levitate! *catdrone*
So maybe it's time for a little heart-to-heart with her about her eating habits? Or ???

As long as she’s not losing weight and she’s finishing most of her plates, I don’t need her to stuff her face all night long. Anyway, there’s not a lot I’m allowed to do between now and the dental. My hope (and fear) is that there has been some dental pain all along that can be resolved in a couple of weeks. Then of course, I may wish she would eat slower or eat less after that’s been taken care of.

After the dental we can see about tapering her pred one more step down. Maybe she’s still sleeping more than usual due to the steroids? And if we can’t get her dose down, maybe we can mix in lower carb alternatives into her diet.

But for now, it’s simply hold the line until the dental.

 

[tarasgirl06]

As long as she’s not losing weight and she’s finishing most of her plates, I don’t need her to stuff her face all night long. Anyway, there’s not a lot I’m allowed to do between now and the dental. My hope (and fear) is that there has been some dental pain all along that can be resolved in a couple of weeks. Then of course, I may wish she would eat slower or eat less after that’s been taken care of.

After the dental we can see about tapering her pred one more step down. Maybe she’s still sleeping more than usual due to the steroids? And if we can’t get her dose down, maybe we can mix in lower carb alternatives into her diet.

But for now, it’s simply hold the line until the dental.

Yeah. Frustrating, I agree. But she's really doing pretty well, considering. And of course we hope she does not have pain! Pain in the head is really hard to deal with, for me at least.

 

[daftcat75]

Yeah. Frustrating, I agree. But she's really doing pretty well, considering. And of course we hope she does not have pain! Pain in the head is really hard to deal with, for me at least.

On the one paw, I wish this all was just a little tooth pain that can be fixed or extracted. On the other, how sad that would be that she’s been eating through this for so long.

It could very well be that she just doesn’t do enough to need that many calories. I think pred also has an effect on how calories are processed and stored beyond just munchies. She’s long past the munchies stage. But calorie levels that would have resulted in weight loss before the pred don’t seem to be slowing down her weight gain.

 

[artiemom]

I think I spent too much time at home yesterday after I plated lunch and it threw her routine off. She didn’t start on lunch until late which means she probably didn’t finish lunch until maybe moments before I walked in the door home from the taproom. That would explain why she sniffed and snubbed dinner after taking her meds. She always takes her meds. I gave her a three carpet morsels. When I tried to give her a fourth, she walked away. Final answer. She ended up with a 9 gram remainder on first dinner by the time the shift was over. She barely touched second dinner. I think she’s just not fond of eating in a cold (for her) apartment. Or she just rather sleep at night. In any case, if she hadn’t fallen behind on first dinner, her underwhelming second dinner would have been okay. Final score for the day: 125 calories. I take a little solace in knowing that she got a couple extra treats yesterday. One for the weigh in.

And one I hid in her new carrier. I had this same carrier with Krista and we both loved it. I tried to get another earlier this year and couldn’t find it. Chewy stopped carrying it. I got one that looked like it. But it was an unsturdy mess of too many zippers, unnecessary front and back expansions, and when it was all opened up, it wouldn’t hold its shape. No wonder why Betty never cared for it when I left it out. And I hated looking at that droopy bad buy. I found Krista’s carrier Amazon. It’s missing side compartment fur that was in Krista’s models (she pooped through a couple of them), but it looks sturdy and it stands up on its own. It was delivered on Saturday and I have been putting a rabbit treat into it when she isn’t looking. I think she’s finding them. Look what I woke up to this morning. “Sorry Betty. I’m going to blind you with this phone’s ridiculous strobe flash because this picture is too cute for a green tint.”
View attachment 436703
What I gained in more natural light, I lost in her unnatural flash eyes.

what a cool carrier!!

 

[daftcat75]

I may have lost her to it. I went to brush and floss and came out to her sitting inside it like it’s her doghouse/pup tent. It’s lights out and she’s still in there instead of sitting on my shoulder in bed.

I just hope she’ll still enjoy it after she’s taken it for a ride to the vet. I want her carrier to be a comfort place to make vet trips just a little easier.

 

[tarasgirl06]

Steroid side effects absolutely include weight gain and yes, if Betty isn't playing a lot, that would possibly add to weight gain/less appetite. *But you know all that*
Actually, if you had a carrier like that, wouldn't you be spending a lot of time in it? I know I would! My friends and I used to build forts when we were little kids, and tents or any other spaces like that were always big magic. *Still are, really.*

 

[daftcat75]

Found an old video of Krista in the same carrier. I think I have the wrong end folded down.

View media item 424650
Betty’s old carrier is actually a touch larger. But because it doesn’t have any boning to keep it up, Betty wants nothing to do with that saggy floppy mess when it’s not in use.

Betty had a fantastic eating day yesterday. She nearly finished both dinners. Still skipped the feeder. That’s okay. She didn’t need it. Final score: 155 calories.

Of course that means she can and probably will eat a little weaker today.

 

[Margot Lane]

Steroid side effects absolutely include weight gain and yes, if Betty isn't playing a lot, that would possibly add to weight gain/less appetite. *But you know all that*
Actually, if you had a carrier like that, wouldn't you be spending a lot of time in it? I know I would! My friends and I used to build forts when we were little kids, and tents or any other spaces like that were always big magic. *Still are, really.*

That was my first thought too! “Damn! if only I were small enough.” That carrier is perfect if there’s a lot of waiting time at the vet’s office.

 

[daftcat75]

That was my first thought too! “Damn! if only I were small enough.” That carrier is perfect if there’s a lot of waiting time at the vet’s office.

Those sides zip up to make a regular carrier or expand for the fort you see there. With Krista and now Betty, I leave the carrier unzipped for them to come in and out as they please and to search for treats. Outside of vet visits and looking for treats, I never saw Krista simply hang out inside the carrier like Betty last night. But then Betty hasn't been inside that carrier for a vet visit yet. Still, it's in the same location as her old carrier. She should be smart enough to put two and two together. At the vet office, I usually only have enough space to zip down one side. But that's still a nice improvement.

And I would definitely get one of my own if I could fit in it. Kinda makes me want to get a tent for the middle of my living room.

 

[Margot Lane]

The Quecha tents from Decathlon are great! Toss ‘em like a frisbee, they pop open! Easy to put away, takes up zero space.

 

[tarasgirl06]

Those sides zip up to make a regular carrier or expand for the fort you see there. With Krista and now Betty, I leave the carrier unzipped for them to come in and out as they please and to search for treats. Outside of vet visits and looking for treats, I never saw Krista simply hang out inside the carrier like Betty last night. But then Betty hasn't been inside that carrier for a vet visit yet. Still, it's in the same location as her old carrier. She should be smart enough to put two and two together. At the vet office, I usually only have enough space to zip down one side. But that's still a nice improvement.

And I would definitely get one of my own if I could fit in it. Kinda makes me want to get a tent for the middle of my living room.

You could! It's supposedly a free country...
Yeah, I'd just get all my (model) cars and trucks and bring them in there and have hours of fun! *If I still had them, that is...*
What a sweet video of Krista angel enjoying her carrier
Yeah, Betty may have a different PURRspective on her carrier if she goes to the V-E-T in it...hoping not, though.

 

[daftcat75]

On the one paw, she finished lunch. On the other, she just finished lunch. And dinner is any minute now. I can delay about 15 minutes or so. But I don’t want to delay her meds too much. So she’ll probably leave some on first dinner and second too and I expect her to come in around 130ish once more.

 

[tarasgirl06]

On the one paw, she finished lunch. On the other, she just finished lunch. And dinner is any minute now. I can delay about 15 minutes or so. But I don’t want to delay her meds too much. So she’ll probably leave some on first dinner and second too and I expect her to come in around 130ish once more.

Finishing brunch just in time for dinner happens here, sometimes. A lot of times, in fact. I'd much rather space them out, but Elvis wouldn't. Not to worry. Just so they eat, right?

 

[daftcat75]

Finishing brunch just in time for dinner happens here, sometimes. A lot of times, in fact. I'd much rather space them out, but Elvis wouldn't. Not to worry. Just so they eat, right?

She knows the routine. I tried to delay her just a little and she wasn’t having it. She sat behind my desk chair and yelled at me. Then she came up to the counter during prep and barked a few more orders at me.

And for a kitty who just finished her lunch (and it looked like a 10 gram remainder when I last saw it), she just turned in a healthy first pass on first dinner.

I guess we just call this dinner now and the next one overnight. Because she doesn’t actually take a second dinner when I plate it as much as eat it on the overnight after she’s had cuddle time on my shoulder and chest.

I think her favorite part of medicine meals besides the A/D is the cuddle fuss she gets with me after she’s finished first pass and before I get up to finish the wash up and my workday. Or in the mornings, before we go back for third sleep.

 

[daftcat75]

After a 155 calories Monday, she fell back to 120 yesterday. She left a 10 gram remainder on dinner. That would have been okay if she had eaten just a little more.

 

[Furballsmom]

If you don't mind me asking, which brand of carrier was it that you didn't like, with all the zippers etc?

 

[daftcat75]

If you don't mind me asking, which brand of carrier was it that you didn't like, with all the zippers etc?

Did not like this one.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07FY4PNTY/?tag=thecatsite

And this picture from the reviews pretty much says it all:


It looks like it was designed for the sides to zip open and the front and back as fixed expansions or floppy entrances. But Betty knows better. The front is for entering. Unless it looks like that sad, floppy mess. She never spent time in the carrier on her own like she already has with the new carrier.

This is the carrier I got to replace it. It's slightly different than the model Krista had. Krista's had fur on the side foldouts as well as the middle bottom. This only has the fur on the middle bottom. Other than that, it looks like largely the same bag. I got it in a different color since I went through two or three in the red trim with Krista.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09MW3PSYJ/?tag=thecatsite

And of course, the Instagram post above is Betty's endorsement.
Introducing Betty White

 

[Furballsmom]

Thanks so much !

 

[daftcat75]

Playing "will she or won't she?" watching her on the camera frozen in indecision between coming into the office or going to her lunch remainder.

Yes! Her lunch remainder won out.

Of course, that also means we're in a duplicate situation from last night where she's finishing lunch right before dinner.

 

[daftcat75]

She tried a sniff and snub on dinner after being an eager beaver on the counter during prep. Sometimes she has to think about whether she's coming up to the counter. Sometimes she skips it altogether. But tonight, she came right up as if she did it every night. I don't know what her lunch remainder was. It looked kinda big. Like 10 grams perhaps or more. So color me shocked when I put down carpet morsel after morsel and she still seemed hungry. Okay. That looks like a good first pass. Let's stop here. Sure enough. She ate half of dinner already. So now she can be a fat sleepy Garfield for a couple of hours if she feels like it.

I know I'm not supposed to be making changes before her dental. But it seems like her appetite went all wonky when we switched her s. boulardii. The old GMP formula ran out. We started her on the new formula plus a bonus pill of the expired Jarrow. I have since dumped the expired Jarrow and ordered their Gut Cleanse powder. It is their Gut Maintenance Protocol (s. boulardii) without the bacteriophage ingredient they were concerned about overdoing. I made up a batch of those with my handy dandy capsule filling machine from Etsy. She started on a bonus capsule of non-expired GC that also matches the prebiotic in the GMP that she's still taking. Let's give it a few days and see if her appetite improves. Although her poops seem fine, her latest report still says she has a problem with clostridium and a lack of the good bacteria. I know AnimalBiome keeps telling me to increase her dietary diversity and fiber intake. Those will have to wait until after her dental. But we should know in a few days whether doubling up her s. boulardii is going to help stabilize her appetite.