Introducing Geoffrey...

[Loving Mickey]

Hi Cindy , so happy that you opened your heart and home to sweet Geoffrey.
Poor little kitty , though , so scared and all.
I am confident that he will come around
in time. He just doesn't realize yet how lucky he is to have you. He probably thinks it is all a dream , that he couldn't possibly have a wonderful warm home with plenty of food and love.
I often wonder what some kitties go through before finding us. That is something we may never know but these poor kitties may never truly forget.
Just keep loving him and he will love you in return. All he needs is time and patience.
He will soon realize how truly lucky he is to have someone like you to care and love him forever.
He is truly a beauty and so sweet looking!

 

[artiemom]

Geoffrey is still a vampire cat~~ coming out when the sun is going down.. and up before the sun comes out..

He still sleeps with me. Last night, because he slept all day, was his exploring time.

When I went to bed, he did walk all over me.. not for long ~ he had to explore my room.. On top of the dresser, the desk, the printer, my computer table.. everywhere.

Then he settled down somewhere. He was cuddling with me, when I woke up.

He is funny. If I move to change my position, he either jumps down or goes to the end of my bed, waiting for me.

G is eating a lot of dry food. I can see it taking it's affect in his stool--a bit harder.

He is not eating all that much. I think since I tried slipping the steroid in his wet food, he does not trust it anymore.

I took his dry food away, this morning. I need to throw it out and wash the bowl.

I may leave him just a tiny bit of dry. In a small bowl.

I was up early this morning for Mass. We had a good play session.

Last night, I fell asleep on the recliner. Usually G is on the back of the sofa or the sofa arm, waiting for me. Not there this time. I was thinking of going to bed, really early--9pm... He woke up and came out from under the bed.. Man, HE was exploring. Scenting all over the place.

He seems to have a very short attention span.

I really do wonder about his background.
Nite cat, afraid of sun, does not know what a box is, or crinkly paper--afraid of it; afraid of any noises or scents. Hides under my bed or my dresser.

All I can think of is that he was kept in a very quiet house/apartment/room; where he was closed off in either a bathroom or closet, and allowed out at night.. when his owner came home. Or his owner worked nights and slept during the day, locking him away.. weird

Acne is still there..
I am not bothering him with the steroid pills. I need to really gain his trust before I can try to do anything to him.

I am going to have to get his claws clipped again.. soon.. like in 2 weeks... I may make the appointment at the vets.. so he can be seen by the Vet...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I did contact Jackson Galaxy's website; having a long web chat with one of the reps.
He was really supportive and helpful.. Sent me several links about acne, and locating a holistic vet. He also suggested I try one of JG's herbal concoctions.. what the heck. I am already running Feliway, to no avail.

The rep suggested misting the rooms, instead of adding it to his food or water, or even wiping him down with it. He would be too spooked to do so.

So, I ordered it. The rep wants me to followup with him about it.

I also mentioned that I volunteer at a shelter and all the issues Artie had.... and wished JG took on questions or consults.. He said, "You Never Know? JG has been very 'present' on social media, lately"... what that means, I do not know.

Well I should get going, wash dishes.. it is torrential rain outside.. His is sleeping.. under the dresser. Does not want to be bothered.. did not eat any breakfast.. Dr Elsey's chicken which he gobbled up, before the steroid incident..

The Humane society is having a semi-meeting.. getting the newsletter out, and just chatting about a possible new vet...

I am debating about going..

At 4pm, the North Shore Philharmonic Orchestra is having a Christmas Concert at my church. It is huge, beautiful, and the acoustics amazing. Santa will make a visit..

The program is from the Boston Pops, complete with a Soprano Soloist. It is over 2 hours.

Admission is a bag of non-perishables for the city's food bank..
I can rustle up some food from here to bring.. if I decide to go.

I have attended this, the last several years..

gotta go...

 

[artiemom]

Well, just watched Geoffrey. Yup, he has diarrhea... watched him. It was water pouring out of him. sigh...

What am I going to do?

It is holiday traffic time.. how can I get him some novel protein food? away from PetSmart or PetCo...

and how am I going to medicate him? I cannot even pick him up??

and insurance will not cover any of this. He is still under the pre-existing period.. damn

How can this happen TWICE in a Row?? back to back...

Now, I definitely know why he was given up... dam

Vet only open until noon.. and closed on Monday..

Do I call the specialist and make an appointment? He is off until well after Christmas..
Not the Christmas gift I was wanting...

 

[rubysmama]

Oh no. Did he eat anything different? Maybe call the vet and see what they suggest. Maybe they'll have some sensitive digestion food to last you over the holidays. Bad timing, for sure.

 

[LTS3]

There's always a trip to Angell if needed. N Vet is off until next Thursday () but his secretary will be in on Monday should you feel the need to call and just get some reassurance and advice. And there's always the option of bringing Geoffrey in as an emergency if the diarrhea gets worse.

I wouldn't change the food as that may upset his tummy even more.

 

[Kflowers]

First take a few deep slow breaths. Second tell yourself that a bout of diarrhea, even one that lasts a few days, isn't IBD. Third keep telling yourself that. You need to be calm and happy. Geoffrey will pick up on your emotions. When you're sick you don't need to feel those around you are panicking, it makes you think you might die.

Did you just change his food? If so consider going back to what he was eating. If not keep giving him the same thing. Cat insides seem to hate change. Though I suppose that's logical since cats in general hate change.

Unless the vet suggests something in particular, you might make him some mashed potato. Just a little, no butter, possibly a little tuna in it. That should be soothing.

 

[artiemom]

I went into the Regular Vet's. She is not in until Thursday..

The Vet coming was not in yet, but the Secretary suggested Purina EN.. I looked at the ingredients and it contained chicken.

I asked if they had any food without chicken. She checked with the more experienced techs who suggested the RC Rabbit. sigh.. Same food as Artie's.

I got a few cans, for the holiday week.

Yes, I have been changing his dry food.. but slowly.. I was trying to change him over to Dr Elsey's.. He loved the dry chicken.
His stools were pudding-dish the past few days, so I went back to what he had in the shelter. I think it is Simply Nourish; either Turkey and Oatmeal, or Chicken and Rice.

Perhaps I have been rushing the change-overs. But....

He has been getting very finicky with his wet food, only wanting fish or Wellness Chicken, or salmon, or chicken with beef, shreds.. That is what I have been feeding him.

I am so confused right now. He is refusing the rabbit.. and crying.. pacing around.

I went back, to only the Wellness Salmon with Herring dry food. That is what he was eating before. It does not contain chicken.

Geoffrey is now refusing even that.

He wants food.. but he wants what he wants...

I really do not want to go through this again..

I did pick up a few cans of other novel protein food... just in case.. like duck, one lamb.. beef.. just in case he flat out refuses the rabbit.. which I have a feeling he will do..

The specialty food store is really not close to me~~ with being the week-end before Christmas, well, it will be impossible to get to.. I would pick up some Koha or some Hound and Gatos..

Here we go again.. Please, no....

No wonder why he was given up.. and ate so ferociously when he was adopted... he got the chicken, or regular food... He was making a pig of himself because he was given food he was not allowed to have, before.. That is why he initially put weight on. He has lost that weight. The few times I pick him up, I can feel that he lost the extra weight.

It kind of points to IBD.. or an allergy.. He has the acne, he has been having gas, His stools have been progressively getting softer... and he is always scratching, or washing himself...

I did not want to put it all together.. but... am I jumping things?

Am I running to the Vet too fast? Should I wait it out.. I mean, I have to....

I do not want to use the ER, unless it is absolutely necessary..

Thinking about ordering some S. Boulardi, and some probiotics.. Should I????

and what probiotics.. the animal ones need a script..

Tried to get Geoffrey to play.. nope, he is back to not trusting me.. he is pacing.. wanting food.. I have to be a tuff mom..
and I have to get my emotions together.

He is running anytime I get close to him.
I guess I really strained out relationship when I looked at his bum.. to see if he had any poop on him..

I have to remember he is not Artie... but..
Only 3 years old.. and this..

LTS3 On Friday, I did leave a Merry Christmas message with NVet Sec and sent her some cute pictures of Geoffrey.. Shew as probably so busy, that she never got back to me.. but.....
Why did I jinx myself.

I ran out as fast as I could this morning.. not even showering, making my bed, or washing dishes.. I wanted to avoid the traffic. I did, but.. did not get anywhere.

I think I am going to make my bed, Swiffer the floors, listen to some Christmas Music, ignore Geoffrey, try to get my Christmas Gift Bags together. Later on, I will watch, It's a Wonderful Life, with a glass of wine, and cry.. I have to watch it.. It is a Christmas tradition which I absolutely cannot skip.

A good cry is what I need.. feeling sorry for myself..

Why is this happening to me again..

Ok, perhaps, God is allowing this to happen because he knows I can provide the appropriate care and love to a sick animal...

I was in the Cemetery the other day-not in my city. A woman was trying to catch a gorgeous Male Wild Turkey with an injured foot.

She did not have a net, but I went over and tried to help her trap the turkey.. A gorgeous thing.. beautiful, huge....

We were unsuccessful. She was going to call animal control.. There was a group of 4 of them, in the creek. I think another one was injured, also.. She said there were coyotes in the area. leave it to me, to try to help trap a wild turkey..

And now this.. I think God is playing games with me.. or testing me..

 

[maggiedemi]

My cats get diarrhea from grain-free dry food. They are fine with wet food, but the expensive dry foods give them diarrhea for some reason.

 

[Kflowers]

I'm sorry Geoffrey is allergic to his favorite food. Sweet Gum is sensitive to chicken, she can't eat chicken meat without throwing up, but she does tolerate chicken broth and chicken fat in her dry food. If he's sensitive to all forms of chicken you have a journey ahead. It's hard to find food without chicken in it. There are some salmon based foods that don't have chicken. I know because we tried them. SG said they weren't food, bury bury bury.

A lot of the single ingredient food companies deliver. I remember you said you didn't use Amazon.

 

[LTS3]

You can use any Human probiotic. Whatever you can find at CVS, Walgreens, etc. Generic brand is fine as long as it has a couple of bacteria strains. I've never seen anything over 10 billion CFU or so but I don't think it matters for Geoffrey.

I can spare some probiotics for Geoffrey if you would like to give them a try. I use a 50 billion CFU one split between the two cats. I'd try maybe a quarter of that for Geoffrey to avoid upsetting his tummy. Leroy also gets S. Boulardii.

I spoke with N Vet's secretary Friday morning. She's holding down the fort while N Vet is out. There is a covering vet but not sure how much help that vet will be since Geoffrey has never been seen by N Vet.

Did you go to Mt Auburn?

 

[artiemom]

Another morning, another liquid poop in the litter box...

Geoffrey is refusing the Rabbit food... eating just the dry. I know dry is not good, but what am I going to do?

He is playing a ton.. just not eating much, holding out for his chicken wet food..

The dry mix is what he was eating in the shelter, combined with the fish dry--not containing chicken.

He is being a PITA with his crying.. and incessantly wanting me Awake..

Now I realize why he was so comfortable in the bathroom. They probably shut him in there to get some rest or to get a good nights sleep.

I went on the IBD Kitties Facebook page.. a lot of information from the owner and from moderators. They are insisting I do not panic yet: thinking it could even be a parasite---but I am not thinking it is as easy as that.
They suggested the stool sample, probiotics and not to change his food around. He has been under a ton of stress, and food changes..
All of these things can contribute to the watery stools..

Felt a bit of dried poop on his tail. sigh.

Thanks, LTS3 for the offer of the probiotics. I think I am going to pick up a bottle, this morning. I will be in the general area. If G does not use them, I can take them.
That is, IF he ever eats his wet food... dam cat... getting so fussy..
But licking the juice is better than nothing.. adding to loose stools but getting some nutrients..
~~~~~~~~
No, I was not at Mt Auburn. I was in Holy Cross, in Malden..

thanks.. I may call Jen tomorrow morning.. sigh...

 

[rubysmama]

Geoffrey is refusing the Rabbit food... eating just the dry. I know dry is not good, but what am I going to do?

At least he's eating the dry. So that's a good thing. And maybe less liquid will help with the diarrhea.

I feel for you, and having cats with sensitive tummies. I'm sure I've mentioned this before, but my Ruby has a chicken sensitivity too. I was giving her a larger kibble to help her gums, but it contained chicken, and didn't agree with her, and eventually got to the point of her being really gassy and leaving little poopy spots all around the house.

Those kibble are gone now, as are the Temptations. Back to her duck canned food, and gastro-intestional dry. And even those sometimes bother her, as yesterday she threw up, and had looser stool.

 

[LTS3]

How is Geoffrey today? I spoke with Jen today. Please don't feel that you are bothering her or N Vet with Geoffrey's issues They are there to help Geoffrey feel better.

I have not been to Holy Cross. Mt Auburn has turkeys but I've never seen them. A blogger I follow has pictures of the turkeys strolling amongst the headstones.

 

[artiemom]

Pardon the mess. He was on my bed with me, looking out the window!!! progress

LTS3 thanks. Yes, I did call Jen. She is awesome. I am really feeling like I am bothering her because we are not “officially” patients. As she put it: we are clients.

I also got in contact with the IBD kitties people on Facebook.

Geoffrey has diarrhea again this morning. He had it twice yesterday.

I got the Renew Life probiotic. Sunday, I gave him a bit with some Purina pro plan beef. He I was refusing the rabbit.
Between the beef or rabbit, Geoffrey prefers the rabbit.

Going to keep him on the rabbit, an the Wellness dry—herring with salmon.

I will pick up some more rabbit on Wednesday; continue with the probiotic, and get a complete stool specimen in for PCR—-suggested strongly by the owner of IBD kitties. Just because he came from the shelter.

He could also have some c-diff or parasite. This way the possibility can be eliminated.

It can also be from all the different food he has been exposed to: his home, foster, the shelter and now with me. Or the darn ingredients in the food. Or it could be from all the stress he has been through; although he is coming around more and more.

Both his rvet and Dr B will be in on Thursday

I know I can see Dr B, but sometimes it is easier to have a local vet involved. I do not know this current vet, but she went to Cornell, has been out for about 6 years and even specialized in ER. I do not want to bypass her.

Boston is so hard to get into due to traffic. If Dr B was closer, I would not hesitate, but. At least I know I have an Awesome option..,
Jen was ready to put G in for an appointment on Saturday. I will talk to her, again, Wednesday. She is so good. She took notes as I talked. Awesome person.

Geoffrey is playing a ton. He thinks of me as his playmate! And waking me at 3-4 am. Not good!!!

He is waking me for 2 reasons. One is to play. It seems Hispanic for being alone is around 4 hours. The other reason is to tell me he pooped and his box is full!!

Where did this come from??? I had to train Artie to do that. Geoffrey came up with it on his own.

Santa is bring Geoffrey an extra large high sided litter box for Christmas. Last night he kicked out a cup of litter. He is a deep digger. But so darn cute.

Merry Christmas .
(((Hugs)))

 

[Tobermory]

He’s such a gorgeous boy!

 

[rubysmama]

What a beautiful picture! Geoffrey is gorgeous!

 

[neely]

Santa is bring Geoffrey an extra large high sided litter box for Christmas. Last night he kicked out a cup of litter. He is a deep digger. But so darn cute.

I hope G likes his gift from Santa. I know you will definitely appreciate it.

Yes, he is so darn cute and very handsome too. I love his coloring.

Good luck with your upcoming vet appointment. We will be anxious to hear what the R vet or Dr. B has to say.

 

[Docs Mom]

On the litterbox subject, I have a cat with a chicken allergy. Pudding poops....
Clump and Seal is wonderful for dealing with diarrhea...it soaks it up fast, into clumps.
Best wishes that you get Geoffrey's troubles figured out.

 

[artiemom]

Thanks, we are in the process...
Geoffrey is now eating prescription rabbit--wet and dry..
Not crazy about some of the ingredients, but it is what the RVet wanted... so I am agreeing with her..

He is also getting a full stool examination. I dropped that off yesterday.

Geoffrey is now taking the Proviable Forte probiotic. It is the stronger one.

Am not certain what is going on with him: either a food allergy/sensitivity, took many food changes, or even giardia.

He is not acting sick. Full of Play.. and eating like a horse. He has put on weight. He is loving the rabbit. At first he was reluctant to eat the wet rabbit; but I persevered, and he finally ate it the 2nd day.

This appetite is making me think of a food issue, rather than a parasite.. but we are starting with the stool sample, PCR, fecal float, etc...just in case.

And staying consistent with a prescription food.. where there are no surprises as to the ingredients..

He loves the dry rabbit..

Geoffrey is going to have to be rationed with his food.. He is getting a bit heavy. I cannot weigh him, but I think he is over 12 lbs.

 

[rubysmama]

I think I'm repeating myself, but Geoffrey really is a gorgeous cat.

And, yes, I am partial to orange tabbies, but he has a completely face from my Ruby girl. Maybe because he's a boy.

Glad things are going well.