Introducing Betty White

[daftcat75]

After she pulled up 6 grams short on breakfast and took her sweet time to wake from a lunch nap, she has finally started into her daytime portions. I don’t dare check in on her until she’s had her fill.

I feel like my mood and even my whole day is defined by this constant worry about whether she will finish the food I put in front of her and where we’re going to make up the calories if she doesn’t.

I need answers from the specialist next month. We cannot live like this.

 

[Furballsmom]

I was thinking about that. Hopefully you'll be on a normal track very soon!

 

[daftcat75]

Twice in one week! Still no hair.

I'm guessing this was a regurgitation. Did she eat too much too fast? She seems less distressed this time. In fact, she's not shutting up like she wants both food and fuss. She jumped to the cat bench and I thought, "uh oh! she's still nauseated and she's going to load up on water and I didn't turn off the fountain." Instead she turned the other way and started to see if there was food she could help herself to on the food prep counter. Despite best guidance from all my previous experiences with her, I decided to give her a trial portion: a quarter portion. "If you keep this down, there's another quarter portion left you can have in an hour."

So she's quacking (between a chirp and a siren: it's got some demand but not as urgent as her Betty alarm) and purring and sitting in my lap at the computer chair. Thank goodness! Because I can't drop everything at work every time her alarm goes off.

And now we wait to see if the quarter portion stays down...

EDIT (for myself): She had her quarter portion at 3:20. She can have her final quarter portion of the afternoon at 4:30 if the trial portion stays down and she shows no other signs of distress.

 

[daftcat75]

The computer chair was terribly uncomfortable for the both of us. I want to be with her right now rather than set her loose to sort it out on her own. So despite the terrible ergonomics, I brought the laptop to the floor and I'm sitting with her. Apparently helicoptering the crap out of her because she just picked up her loaf and deposited herself a few feet away from me. Or maybe she's saying. "work or me? Choose!"

 

[daftcat75]

I guess she chose for me. I don’t blame her. I love that sun. And I’m sorry I can’t drop work and join her.


On the one paw, if her stomach was still in spasm from earlier like Tuesday, I would have expected another round of the yowls and barfs.

On the other paw, I’m not in any rush to jam another quarter portion into her until she looks more ready for it.

She looks better than 50/50 that it’s staying down. But not by much. Hopefully by 6 pm, we will have a better read on how to proceed with dinners. Probably lighter portions. But she’s still on a fairly bland (1:2) mix.

 

[tarasgirl06]

I guess she chose for me. I don’t blame her. I love that sun. And I’m sorry I can’t drop work and join her.

View attachment 420121
On the one paw, if her stomach was still in spasm from earlier like Tuesday, I would have expected another round of the yowls and barfs.

On the other paw, I’m not in any rush to jam another quarter portion into her until she looks more ready for it.

She looks better than 50/50 that it’s staying down. But not by much. Hopefully by 6 pm, we will have a better read on how to proceed with dinners. Probably lighter portions. But she’s still on a fairly bland (1:2) mix.

A nice sunbath and then a nice bland dinner. Or two. Sounds pretty blissful to me!

 

[daftcat75]

The good news is the Betty alarm is going off and she seems like she wants more food.

The bad news is the Betty alarm is going off and I won't feed her after 5 when first dinner starts at six. I may split the difference for her today and start the prep at 5:30 putting the plate down closer to 5:45.

 

[daftcat75]

Split the difference on time, but didn't quite reduce the portion. First dinner is usually a 34 gram affair. I reduced it to 25 grams and she polished it off. And the Betty alarm is still sounding. Clearly she's still hungry. If she's lucky and good, I may sneak her an extra portion tonight.

I don't like that I don't know why she popped this afternoon. But I am grateful that my instincts were right and it doesn't appear to be the same thing as Tuesday (whatever that was!) or a hairball. She seems to have bounced back rather quickly this afternoon and we may not have to reduce portions much at all tonight. She's still going to come up about a meal short today on calories.

 

[daftcat75]

Betty alarm went off at 6:30 pm after a brief post-meal nap and groom. I thought it may just be for fuss. But she was doing laps between the food prep counter and my feet in the kitchen. If she’s breaking her own “no cats in kitchen” rule (I didn’t teach her this!), then I know it’s food and not fuss that she’s looking for. So I plated the remainder of her normal first dinner portion and she made that disappear. First dinner is in the books like this afternoon didn’t happen. Unfortunately, the meal she missed was the big one (the afternoon meal is larger than the morning meal because she has all day to finish it.)

I know she was feeling good after her portion because she was a lovely pest while I was stretching out during dinner cook (I have times while dinner is cooking where I can come to the ground and fuss Betty or do some stretching.) Betty has learned my dinner routine and knows when I’m not coming back, when I ran out of those set a timer and stretch intervals. It’s at this time she usually retires to a post-meal napping spot like her cloud, the bed, or her poof. But tonight, she’s a brat. She took my recliner. I tried to dump her and she leapt to the ottoman where the pillow failed to hold and pillow and Betty went to the floor. Cats are tough and she forgave me and I was able to convince her to leap to my lap where she has quietly sat while I ate dinner and now we will watch baseball until next meals.

It’s like the afternoon regurgitation never happened. Except that her weekly calories will come in lower than maintenance. She’s on pace for a weekly avaerage of approximately 170. Not quite enough for even her current weight at 20 cal/lbs. But she doesn’t exactly have a 20 cal/lbs daily schedule. Sleep, scream, eat, sleep, poop zooms, eat, and more sleep.

 

[cat nap]

She had a hairy poop. I scooped her poops to the toilet and then donned a pair of gloves to pick through them.

She had poop zooms!

And we had a pets and bunts session.

I imagine she's napping in the sun right now. That's where I would be if I didn't have to work.

Is Betty still on any EYL...or is this on pause, now, during the 'poop pill treatments'?

Because it seems like something is working,...to push that hair out of her...and into her poop.
(not the other way around...which is good.) yay!!

Split the difference on time, but didn't quite reduce the portion. First dinner is usually a 34 gram affair. I reduced it to 25 grams and she polished it off. And the Betty alarm is still sounding. Clearly she's still hungry. If she's lucky and good, I may sneak her an extra portion tonight.

I don't like that I don't know why she popped this afternoon. But I am grateful that my instincts were right and it doesn't appear to be the same thing as Tuesday (whatever that was!) or a hairball. She seems to have bounced back rather quickly this afternoon and we may not have to reduce portions much at all tonight. She's still going to come up about a meal short today on calories.

So are you still finding that Betty seems to have a 'smaller intake stomach capacity'...versus when you feed her more?
Or do you think that 'her capacity' for food...differs...depending on the 'time of day'.?
Say, more capacity in evening, and less in daytime?

Also, have you noticed 'when she usually regurgitates'...or has those 'acid spit ups'?
Are they always in the daytime. (not morning)
Because it seems, so, but I'm not sure.

Unfortunately, the meal she missed was the big one (the afternoon meal is larger than the morning meal because she has all day to finish it.)

That's quite interesting.
For some reason I would think that Betty would eat more, in the morning, ..(versus the afternoon time)...and then again at night time.
Huh.
I wonder how much of her hunger, surrounds 'active playful times', too?
and then she eats, and feels good, to relax and cuddle.
Except of course, on those 'acid spit up' days/times.

 

[daftcat75]

cat nap
She doesn’t usually regurgitate. I’m careful to try to classify each ejection by mouth rather than simply call it all vomiting (like her insurance ) or call it all hairballs. Of all her eruptions, regurgitation happened maybe twice now. Unprovoked acid spits, this may have been the first. I knew that morning that that could have happened when I spotted her morning ondansetron/famotidine on the carpet. She was already done eating and the capsule was mangled enough for me to doubt its provenance. Once I can no longer vouch for it, I won’t pill Betty with random carpet bits. So without her antiemetic and acid control, it didn’t surprise me that she would have an acid spit afternoon. That afternoon aside, she’s on meds that prevent that sort of thing. I don’t believe I have recorded any other instances of the acid spits. Tuesday was odd because it seemed to fall somewhere between a vomit and a regurgitation happening almost an hour after she ate. If there’s no further excitement this weekend, I plan to go back through this blog and find her eruptions and document them in her food journal.

As for serving sizes, she ate 30+ grams the last several meals in one go. First breakfast is already in the books. Last night she tricked me. I set out a conservative 24 grams and she sniffed and walked away. So I picked it up, “well the good news is that I’ll plate the rest of your portion since you seen uninterested in scarfing it in one go. The bad news is that you have to wait for my night routine before you get the snuggles you are demanding.” So I add the remainder of her overnight portion to the plate bringing it up to 36 grams. I drop it off and head to the bathroom to pee and brush my teeth. While peeing, I hear the familiar eating sounds (smacking and clinking of teeth against plate.) Tricked! Hopefully she’ll pace herself. Yeah right. Miss Piggy ate the whole 36 grams and then came up to the bed for what she lives for: snuggles and face smears. She burped it off and slept well. Eating a 36 gram portion is definitely progress.

I vary her meal sizes depending on both time of day and time to next meal. Breakfast and dinner are often smaller meals because I want them finished before we move on to the next meal. Because Betty doesn’t eat as much during the day as she does at night, I give her a fatter daytime portion to last her all afternoon. I used to try to get two breakfasts and a lunch in. But she kept sleeping through second breakfast. So I changed the schedule to match her routine. On the night shift, I make second dinner the largest because she finishes it. I can’t always count on the timing of when she finishes her overnight portion. So that’s her smallest portion. I want her hungry for breakfast as that’s a medicine meal. I’ll be reviewing her food journal this weekend to see how I might resize either the portions or the mix to get her back to full calories without adding chunks of pure A/D back to her diet. And finally, I will see how this week’s depressed weekly calories might affect her weekly weigh-in. It may be possible that she doesn’t actually need 190.

 

[daftcat75]

We haven’t done EYL because something on the site says that EYL can increase “secretions” (I assume stomach acid) and should be used carefully with cats with ulcers. I don’t think she has an ulcer. But I don’t want to challenge her gut on days it’s already challenged. And so we missed Wednesday’s dose due to Tuesday’s ejections. And I was considering it for last night until her regurgitation in the afternoon. Possibly I’ll offer Saturday night (her Sunday dose.) We’ll see how she’s eating.

 

[cat nap]

cat nap
She doesn’t usually regurgitate. I’m careful to try to classify each ejection by mouth rather than simply call it all vomiting (like her insurance ) or call it all hairballs. Of all her eruptions, regurgitation happened maybe twice now. Unprovoked acid spits, this may have been the first. I knew that morning that that could have happened when I spotted her morning ondansetron/famotidine on the carpet. She was already done eating and the capsule was mangled enough for me to doubt its provenance. Once I can no longer vouch for it, I won’t pill Betty with random carpet bits. So without her antiemetic and acid control, it didn’t surprise me that she would have an acid spit afternoon. That afternoon aside, she’s on meds that prevent that sort of thing. I don’t believe I have recorded any other instances of the acid spits. Tuesday was odd because it seemed to fall somewhere between a vomit and a regurgitation happening almost an hour after she ate. If there’s no further excitement this weekend, I plan to go back through this blog and find her eruptions and document them in her food journal.

Sounds good daftcat75 ...especially going back through the blog,...and noting the different eruptions, and adding them to Betty's food journal diary.

Like you mentioned before, something must be causing Betty to burp...and then somehow, the 'eruptions' get triggered.

So yes, maybe it's not the 'vomiting reflex' or 'emetic reflex' that is being triggered,...but rather an 'eating issue' surrounding what food Betty has eaten, the Speed she eats at, time of day, and how long afterwards,...plus with or without hairballs present,...which can be a totally separate issue, too.

Going back through the blog, will definitely help, since different types of eruptions happened.
Hopefully, too, when you see the Specialist, they will already have experience in these situations, to be able to focus and find treatments that will help Betty.

Since you are noticing burps now, then that could be something else..that you could add to 'the Betty journal'.
Only because...it will help you to know...if the 'food mixture'...'richness'...or 'ingredients'...are causing some gastric issues...or is the 'speed in how Betty eats,..causing them'.
Is she swallowing too much air, for instance,...even when eating slow...(although, I'm not sure how the Specialists...would be able to see this without a barium study...if that actually shows up, on contrasts.)

(I remember MissClouseau ...mentioning that her cat swallows a lot of air, while eating.
I don't think that this may be Betty's problem,...but it's still good that you 'note the burps'...or 'if they only happen' closer to 'medication times, too'.)

Timing seems to be very important for Betty...so like tarasgirl06 mentioned...that hopefully when you are able to find the right 'timings and proportions'....her 'sweet spot'..in terms of when she likes to eat...then perhaps you will be able to later find different foods, as well.

For now, though, the a/d and i/d...seems to be going quite well.

As for serving sizes, she ate 30+ grams the last several meals in one go. First breakfast is already in the books. Last night she tricked me. I set out a conservative 24 grams and she sniffed and walked away. So I picked it up, “well the good news is that I’ll plate the rest of your portion since you seen uninterested in scarfing it in one go. The bad news is that you have to wait for my night routine before you get the snuggles you are demanding.” So I add the remainder of her overnight portion to the plate bringing it up to 36 grams. I drop it off and head to the bathroom to pee and brush my teeth. While peeing, I hear the familiar eating sounds (smacking and clinking of teeth against plate.) Tricked! Hopefully she’ll pace herself. Yeah right. Miss Piggy ate the whole 36 grams and then came up to the bed for what she lives for: snuggles and face smears. She burped it off and slept well. Eating a 36 gram portion is definitely progress.

Sounds Great.
That Betty is able to eat more grams...at one go is so good.
That Betty still gives you a 'hard time'...with the 'sniff and walk away'....is 'typical cat prerogative'

(I should not laugh, since my female cat does it too, when the flavour, temperature, texture, is not to her liking. ((cats)). )

I vary her meal sizes depending on both time of day and time to next meal. Breakfast and dinner are often smaller meals because I want them finished before we move on to the next meal. Because Betty doesn’t eat as much during the day as she does at night, I give her a fatter daytime portion to last her all afternoon. I used to try to get two breakfasts and a lunch in. But she kept sleeping through second breakfast. So I changed the schedule to match her routine. On the night shift, I make second dinner the largest because she finishes it. I can’t always count on the timing of when she finishes her overnight portion. So that’s her smallest portion. I want her hungry for breakfast as that’s a medicine meal. I’ll be reviewing her food journal this weekend to see how I might resize either the portions or the mix to get her back to full calories without adding chunks of pure A/D back to her diet. And finally, I will see how this week’s depressed weekly calories might affect her weekly weigh-in. It may be possible that she doesn’t actually need 190.

Oh, okay.
So Betty does not finish first breakfast...before her lunch meal.
and with Breakfast meal...she also gets her meds.
(previously it was two breakfasts...so now they are one...since she slept through second breakfast. got it. thanks.)

 

[daftcat75]

I don’t know if Betty burps as much as she has these moments where she smacks her lips for a second or two. Some of it may just be her desire to snuggle directly after a meal which often puts her in a strange position to digest. But these snuggles are what she lives for. And anyway, she hasn’t popped from an awkward snuggle yet.

Each time she pops, I seem to learn something new about her or her care. Like before yesterday, I would not have thought to offer her food so quickly afterward. But she was giving me all the right signs that yesterday was something different and she truly was ready for food again.

I’m yet not sure how to do it. But it looks like we’re going to skip the A/D spoonfuls and either grow the portion sizes or enrich the mix to get her up to calories. Sunday’s weigh in should also tell us how important that 190 calorie goal I’ve set for her. Maybe 180 is enough for a gradual weight gain. I’m sure she’d be happier not being stuffed past capacity all the time.

 

[daftcat75]

Maybe skipping the pure A/D spoons was exactly what she needed. She woke from her morning nap and sounded the siren. So I plated her afternoon portion. I was careful to size it for a piggy gulp. I figure if she’s going to finish it one go, let’s not pop her. And if she does finish it, I can always offer her a tweener if she’s ready for more before dinner.

Sure enough, a 36 gram portion has gone missing. Surprisingly, the siren is still sounding. She must want fuss now.

So it would seem that I may get her to calories today simply with an extra portion this afternoon.

 

[daftcat75]

I'm still incredulous that her daytime portion is already in the book. Either there's another cat in the home, or she has a hollow leg.

Her siren is still going. I must have gave her a fatter dose of the Mirataz yesterday?

 

[Margot Lane]

I was thinking about that. Hopefully you'll be on a normal track very soon!

Was thinking this too, esp. as you mentioned, you’d like to focus on her teeth next. Seems like there are a WHOLE lot less barfs than there used to be. I keep wishing we knew how and what she was fed before…would be so helpful if animal shelters could let us know. I really think you are getting there!

 

[daftcat75]

Was thinking this too, esp. as you mentioned, you’d like to focus on her teeth next. Seems like there are a WHOLE lot less barfs than there used to be. I keep wishing we knew how and what she was fed before…would be so helpful if animal shelters could let us know. I really think you are getting there!

We've gone from a weekly hairball to a weekly something. I haven't seen an actual hairball in awhile.

We have also gone from only nibbling on a free-feed basis to finishing portions in one go on a schedule.

We have gone from 20 gram portions to 35 gram portions.

We have recovered half a pound she had lost.

There also seems to be a lot less of her post-meal nausea. Before, it seemed like there was a lot loafing and squinting and licking back the nausea before she could finally set her head down.

We've made some great strides and I suspect it won't be a light switch where one day, all her issues stop. But rather, it will be more like a stubborn leaky faucet that may not ever fully shut off. But perhaps with more observation, experimentation, care, and skill, the leaks should become fewer and far between with the recoveries being not so difficult.

There's a certain amount of Betty hacking involved--getting to know this cat and reminding myself that she's not Krista. Things that Krista didn't like or didn't work with Krista may be exactly what Betty needs. Like prescription food. Who woulda thunk it? Betty's doing quite well on this food that would turn Krista inside out.

So yes, thank you for reminding me. We are indeed making progress.

 

[daftcat75]

I don't know why Betty was being so inconsolable earlier. Maybe she was having a case of the mirtz'es. But I have work to do today and can't be coming into the other room every time I hear her lonely mao. So I unhooked the work laptop once more and set us up on the bed where I almost have something resembling support behind me and she has a hip to snuggle against. This isn't very comfortable for me. But this is the agreement I make with my kitties when I mirtz them. I don't dose and dash. I hope I'm not setting a precedent and an expectation of co-working here though.

 

[tarasgirl06]

I don't know why Betty was being so inconsolable earlier. Maybe she was having a case of the mirtz'es. But I have work to do today and can't be coming into the other room every time I hear her lonely mao. So I unhooked the work laptop once more and set us up on the bed where I almost have something resembling support behind me and she has a hip to snuggle against. This isn't very comfortable for me. But this is the agreement I make with my kitties when I mirtz them. I don't dose and dash. I hope I'm not setting a precedent and an expectation of co-working here though.

Many including me do juggle cat and keyboard one way or another. Would that big pillow you used with Krista help at all, or are you already using that?