Krista's Care

[daftcat75]

3:30 am:

This is too early to start first breakfast.

She climbed on my chest for a belly ride at 3am. I was so tired. I gave her a few scritches and went back to sleep wearing a cat bib.

I’ll split the difference with her if she can wait until 4:30.

 

[tarasgirl06]

Krista’s still so very skinny. But she’s only been pooping right for a week now. I want to believe she’s already putting weight back on. But I also think I’m more bothered by it than her. So I let her do her thing. Worrying about it hasn’t ever put any weight back on her. I give her the pred wet willy (transdermal) in the ear every night and try to keep up with her appetite.

That's the stuff! It may take awhile, with all she's been through, but it sounds very promising that she is making progress and that the progress will show. Tarifa snorks everything in sight -- she ate her chicken plate, part of Elvis', and part of Baby Su's this morning! and she'd probably eat a case full if I gave it to her! -- but she's a slight little thing.

 

[daftcat75]

10:30 am:

Right on schedule.

But then, shortly after:

I have no idea what that was about. But she felt instantly better and was yelling at me for the replacement meal even before I had it cleaned up. Thankfully she barfed in a single Bissell track path for the upright. So clean-up was a couple wet passes and a couple dry passes and done.

I'm guessing it was a delayed scarf and barf. Maybe her stomach just isn't ready for 50 gram portions yet. I gave her a half portion before my meeting. And I'll give her the other half portion in an hour at lunch time.

 

[tarasgirl06]

10:30 am:

Right on schedule.

But then, shortly after:

I have no idea what that was about. But she felt instantly better and was yelling at me for the replacement meal even before I had it cleaned up. Thankfully she barfed in a single Bissell track path for the upright. So clean-up was a couple wet passes and a couple dry passes and done.

I'm guessing it was a delayed scarf and barf. Maybe her stomach just isn't ready for 50 gram portions yet. I gave her a half portion before my meeting. And I'll give her the other half portion in an hour at lunch time.

Sounds like a good plan. Hope you're right and hope that sets well with Krista!

 

[daftcat75]

5:30 pm:

She may be pre-diabetic or diabetic. I need to call her regular vet tomorrow.

She has done nothing today but sit sentry in front of her dish or meow at me to feed her again. She has been drinking more and peeing more. But she's always done that since we started the steroids. I'm hoping today she's just extra pushy because she barfed up a breakfast. But I doubt it. Last month, the emergency hospital didn't mention diabetes or high glucose when they tested her on admission. Trying not to worry about it until I can get her in to doctor. But she's just so hungry and restless!

 

[Twylasmom]

Could you reduce the pred dose a little and see if that makes a difference?Also, the transdermal dosage tends to be less exact than a pill, maybe this syringe isn't mixed as evenly. Twyla is currently on half a pill every other day (asthma) and she is SO much more demanding about food on the days she is dosed, even with such a small amount.

 

[daftcat75]

Could you reduce the pred dose a little and see if that makes a difference?Also, the transdermal dosage tends to be less exact than a pill, maybe this syringe isn't mixed as evenly. Twyla is currently on half a pill every other day (asthma) and she is SO much more demanding about food on the days she is dosed, even with such a small amount.

The Wedgewood Pharmacy Twist-a-Dose pen is the best transdermal system I’ve used. I trust the accuracy of the dosing.

That said. It should be easy to reduce her dose. It’s two full rotations on the pen for a full dose. So I could do 1 rotation for a half dose.

That’s something I can certainly discuss with her vet tomorrow.

One thing I wonder about though. I’m supposed to alternate ears. But obviously since the infection in one of them and that same one had a ruptured eardrum last year (maybe the source of the infection this year??), she won’t let me anywhere near that ear. She begrudgingly allows the other ear. But not without some resistance. I try to wash away the previous day’s dose. But she doesn’t always allow that either. So I wonder if I’m layering a dose on top of unabsorbed dose from previous day(s). The surgeon did say I could dose her shaved neck instead. But she doesn’t let me too near that either.

I guess that’s another question for her vet tomorrow.

 

[daftcat75]

Her poop is overdue. Not alarmingly so yet. She was pooping about every seven to eight hours yesterday. Hence the reason I was saying, “right on schedule.” So on that schedule, I was expecting a 12:30 am poop for 7 hours. We’re coming up on 12 hours which is actually where I prefer it.

Last night, I decided not to taper the overnight portion. Not much anyway. She got a 45 g first dinner. 47 g for second dinner in place of the 50 g portion I’m not sure she can do yet. And then instead of tapering her to 37 g on the overnight, I gave her 42 g. That got us nearly to 4:30 am before she started her song and dance. I probably could have held her off to 5 am. But I had to pee and I wanted to go on a poop hunt. So I split the difference and got out of bed at 4:40.

She’s been more relaxed on the overnight than she was during the day. Yesterday I don’t think she slept at all between second breakfast and first dinner. She seemed to hold sentry in front of her food dish or yell at me that it was empty. Last night she actually got some sleep in between meals.

One of the reasons I tapered her tweener meals (the ones between the breakfasts and dinners) was that she was getting some kind of medicine either with a breakfast or with a dinner. I wanted to make sure she would be hungry enough to take her medicine with an adequate amount of food. Now that she only gets a nightly wet willy in the ear, I see fewer reasons to taper her meals. As long as she can handle the extra food, and we are taking about a third more food if her mid afternoon snack is padded up from 32 to 42g, maybe that will make her more comfortable during the day.

Still need to talk to her doc later today.

 

[tarasgirl06]

Her poop is overdue. Not alarmingly so yet. She was pooping about every seven to eight hours yesterday. Hence the reason I was saying, “right on schedule.” So on that schedule, I was expecting a 12:30 am poop for 7 hours. We’re coming up on 12 hours which is actually where I prefer it.

Last night, I decided not to taper the overnight portion. Not much anyway. She got a 45 g first dinner. 47 g for second dinner in place of the 50 g portion I’m not sure she can do yet. And then instead of tapering her to 37 g on the overnight, I gave her 42 g. That got us nearly to 4:30 am before she started her song and dance. I probably could have held her off to 5 am. But I had to pee and I wanted to go on a poop hunt. So I split the difference and got out of bed at 4:40.

She’s been more relaxed on the overnight than she was during the day. Yesterday I don’t think she slept at all between second breakfast and first dinner. She seemed to hold sentry in front of her food dish or yell at me that it was empty. Last night she actually got some sleep in between meals.

One of the reasons I tapered her tweener meals (the ones between the breakfasts and dinners) was that she was getting some kind of medicine either with a breakfast or with a dinner. I wanted to make sure she would be hungry enough to take her medicine with an adequate amount of food. Now that she only gets a nightly wet willy in the ear, I see fewer reasons to taper her meals. As long as she can handle the extra food, and we are taking about a third more food if her mid afternoon snack is padded up from 32 to 42g, maybe that will make her more comfortable during the day.

Still need to talk to her doc later today.

Hoping the consult will give you some good info you can use to strategize with. I wouldn't worry too much about her drinking more and peeing more -- one does lead to the other, after all, and with all of the meds she's on and being post-surgery, she's bound to be more erratic at times. Also, IDK if it's hot up there, but of course cats tend to drink more when it's hot just as we do. I can really snork up the lemonade during summer -- and especially at dinner time! So we know what THAT leads to...
Really hoping you can find a good way to give her her medicine that doesn't stress her. Ears or neck? *What a choice!*

 

[daftcat75]

9:30 am:

Finally! It was perfect chocolate banana! I guess perfection takes a little extra brew time.

Spoke too soon.

10am:

As bonus rounds go, that was pretty good. Much larger pile of solids. Now I do believe she is caught up.

She seems more relaxed this morning.

Twylasmom may have been on to something. The transdermal pen burps a little gel between uses. Normally I wipe this away. I think Monday I didn't have a napkin handy and thought it didn't look like much extra anyway and I was trying to wrap up my work day and I had a cat yelling at me. So I put on the glove and gave her the wet willy without wiping the extra burp gel off the pen. She got a slightly larger dose on Monday and it showed yesterday.

Let's keep an eye on her today, and call in tomorrow.

In other news that got missed among all her hunger tantrums yesterday, she climbed up the office tree on to the desk and sat in her filling spot: the space between me and the keyboard where she wants her fill of love and attention before moving on. She hasn't done that since before her surgery. She's also running quite well from the kitchen to her feeding spot (my little NASCAR racer!) but if she looks up at me to yell at me while turning, she can still wipe herself out. She's getting there.

 

[daftcat75]

And she finally jumped into my lap from the ground into my office chair!

She's been trying to climb up for the last couple weeks. I usually let her because I want her to re-develop her skills on her own. But when she's got a good chunk of my leg, I grab her by the chest and lift her into my lap.

This morning, after making a couple attempts at climbing, she finally jumped and made it too!

 

[tarasgirl06]

And she finally jumped into my lap from the ground into my office chair!

She's been trying to climb up for the last couple weeks. I usually let her because I want her to re-develop her skills on her own. But when she's got a good chunk of my leg, I grab her by the chest and lift her into my lap.

This morning, after making a couple attempts at climbing, she finally jumped and made it too!

*YES!!!* I do that with Tar, too, encouraging her to jump onto the weight bench at feeding times and up onto the seat beside me when I'm working. But if she hesitates too long, especially for meals, I do help her up. Because, you know, you just don't want them to have to wait for their food.

 

[daftcat75]

*YES!!!* I do that with Tar, too, encouraging her to jump onto the weight bench at feeding times and up onto the seat beside me when I'm working. But if she hesitates too long, especially for meals, I do help her up. Because, you know, you just don't want them to have to wait for their food.

If I fed Krista on the steps of her Katris like I've thought about before, it would mean that she would pick a mouthful then go to the floor. Then go back up for another mouthful. It would certainly give her exercise. But it would also make a huge mess of an area that's not easy to clean. I like where I feed her because I only need to sit up slightly from bed to confirm those chewing noises are coming from the cat. There used to be a time when she didn't finish her plates in one go.

 

[daftcat75]

My little NASCAR racer! Because she drives fast and turns left.

https://thecatsite.com/media/nascar-krista.423667/

 

[FeebysOwner]

My little NASCAR racer! Because she drives fast and turns left. https://thecatsite.com/media/nascar-krista.423667/

LOL! That is because "left" was directly to her food station!!!!

 

[daftcat75]

LOL! That is because "left" was directly to her food station!!!!

When she got out of her 2 week activity restriction lock up, she was unsteady and slow and kept looking back at me. We would have a bottleneck issue coming out of the kitchen. I used to call that the Strait of Yobooty. Because “you need to move yo booty so I can get your food to its spot.” Now she’s on the pro circuit and yells at me for going too slow.

 

[daftcat75]

She seems more comfortable today. Instead of sitting sentry in front of her food, she sits like a creeper just outside the office. Subtle!

 

[tarasgirl06]

My little NASCAR racer! Because she drives fast and turns left.

https://thecatsite.com/media/nascar-krista.423667/

*VROOOM VROOOM!* Lookit her go! She's got a good strong meow on her, too, or as I tell Tar, "Your meower works good!*
Tar did that, too. She'd get a bite and then back away at speed, like the food or the bowl or both were SCARING her. That was when I was feeding her in the tunnel and sometimes one bite was GOOD. Now that I feed her on my weight bench, she snorks it all up most times, leaving leavings on the bench as offerings to something or another. She actually came out into the breakfast room this morning for her breakfast! This is where she's normally eaten since we moved here. But since she stopped eating and then started again, the office is her dining room of choice. I'm wondering if it has to do with the fact that Elvis, who normally eats in the breakfast room too, will leave his own bowl and go to Tarifa's. He also leaves the room and goes to see what Baby Su has. He believes "all the gushyfudz belongz to me!"

 

[daftcat75]

5:30 pm:

It’s been a slow day at the office.

Krista’s been hunger trillin’ for the last half hour. She’s still got another half hour to go. I still have another half hour to go.

I wish I could feed her sooner. But she needs the pred at the same time each day. And moving up first dinner just moves up every meal after it.

Her behavior has been far less alarming today than yesterday. I’ll still call the vet tomorrow. But maybe we can skip a vet visit for now and just try a tapering first. I’ll have the emergency hospital transfer the labs they took so we don’t have to repeat those just yet. Maybe. I don’t know. I’ll talk to the doc tomorrow and see what she thinks.

Hang in there, Krista. Just twenty more minutes. I can sport you five minutes.

 

[tarasgirl06]

5:30 pm:

It’s been a slow day at the office.

Krista’s been hunger trillin’ for the last half hour. She’s still got another half hour to go. I still have another half hour to go.

I wish I could feed her sooner. But she needs the pred at the same time each day. And moving up first dinner just moves up every meal after it.

Her behavior has been far less alarming today than yesterday. I’ll still call the vet tomorrow. But maybe we can skip a vet visit for now and just try a tapering first. I’ll have the emergency hospital transfer the labs they took so we don’t have to repeat those just yet. Maybe. I don’t know. I’ll talk to the doc tomorrow and see what she thinks.

Hang in there, Krista. Just twenty more minutes. I can sport you five minutes.

They can wear us down so easily, can't they?