Krista's Care

[daftcat75]

She's coming home today!

I'm not sure I'm ready for all her new meds and maintenance (eye drops, one pill by mouth, a few more meds by e-tube, and e-tube site maintenance) but sure glad she's finally coming home. We'll figure it all out. Worst case scenario, I have to bupe her in the ear and come back in 20 minutes when she's sedated enough for her drops and meds.

 

[ellaandbosie]

Goodness! Been reading this thread over the past few days and so glad to hear she's finally cleared to go home! That's gotta be a weight off your shoulders. Krista's a fighter!
Sending good

 

[daftcat75]

“What limitations? What do you mean I’m not as coordinated as I believe myself to be?” (Note the head tilt)

“No kitty! This is my chicken pot pie!” (Or smoked salmon bagel as it were.)

She put away most of a quarter can (about 1.5 oz.). When she was last in this apartment, I could barely get 1.5 oz in her on the whole day. So obviously the teeth are feeling a whole lot better.

 

[daftcat75]

I put the food in the dish before I put in the crate. She wasn’t going to let me move it. Next time I plate and then put the food down.

 

[daftcat75]

My fur pig is mowing down canned food again like it’s good as raw. I guess Rawz is the next best thing to raw. At the vet’s office, they would scoop out a quarter can at a time and leave it in her cage for hours for her to eat in her own time. I thought maybe I’d try the same now that she’s eating Rawz again. She stopped wanting it when her teeth were bothering her. Now I have two plates out trying to stave off the 4am wake up call. And I think she’s already finished both.

 

[daftcat75]

Her e-tube cap keeps flying off with a vigorous head shake. The tube is too short to lie flat into the Kitty Kollar. It’s an expense and a procedure so I’m leaving it in as long as I need to give her medicine for gallbladder and ear. So probably a month. I’ll mention the flying cap to vet.

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

Gosh, so much has happened since I last read your thread (don't know what happened but I stopped getting any notifications of updates) So glad she is finally home and eating so well. Hoping the ataxia goes away in short order .

I wonder if they can do some sort of screw-on cap for the e-tube? Too bad it's not working with the KittyKollar. Did you try calling them to see if they have any ideas of how it might work with that short tube? They might know of a way...it's a long shot, but they may have encountered that issue before.

Keep up the great work! You rock

 

[daftcat75]

Gosh, so much has happened since I last read your thread (don't know what happened but I stopped getting any notifications of updates) So glad she is finally home and eating so well. Hoping the ataxia goes away in short order .

I wonder if they can do some sort of screw-on cap for the e-tube? Too bad it's not working with the KittyKollar. Did you try calling them to see if they have any ideas of how it might work with that short tube? They might know of a way...it's a long shot, but they may have encountered that issue before.

Keep up the great work! You rock

The ataxia is clearing up day by day. She's mopey and hiding a good deal now that she's home, though. I think the ear infection that caused the Horner's is making it hard for her to get comfortable. I gave her a transdermal bupe dose in the ear and she seems a bit more comfortabe. But she's also in a hiding spot right now. Dr says let her hide. Rest is good for her healing.

She's not really asking for food but occassionally comes across the several plates I have left for her and eats anywhere from a few bites to finishing most of the plate. I think she's about a half 5.5 oz can in so probably on pace for a full can today. I'd like to get her to a can and a half per day. Dr says cut her slack for a couple of days while she gets used to being home again.

Home doesn't quite look the same to her with the Horner's. She does remember her cat trees and her litterbox. I put a large dog crate where her favorite tree used to be and I know she's not happy about that. She made the jump onto the media bench and then walked across to where her tree would be but instead decided that being on top of the crate is not nearly as satisfying. As much as I wanted to discourage her from jumping into and out of that tree for a few more days, she has told me she's ready. I think that crate will be packed back up. Maybe if she got her old daytime sleeping spot back, she'd be a little less mopey?

Her bile acids re-test came back almost normal. Dr asked them to re-test the liver enzyme and bilirubin values with the sample for the bile acids test. I may ask Dr to stick her again and re-test once more on her Saturday follow-up visit--make sure nothing environmental in the apartment is sending the values abnormal again. I'll also ask for another B-12 because we're going to move her back to every two weeks.

I feel so uneasy right now. When I took her in, she was perky and affectionate and certainly not acting like a cat who hadn't eaten well for a couple of weeks. Now she's eating a lot better but she's mopey and hiding. The Horner's could be a long haul. The tube will also stay in at least a month. I don't want to remove it just to have to put it back in again. I'm fairly certain she would not have pulled through without those 10 days at the vet, the dental, and the e-tube, but where's my Krista? When does she return to her perky, affectionate, insatiably hungry self?

 

[FeebysOwner]

You have so got this under control - as much as (and more) than anyone can. She'll get there, I truly believe.
Long haul, as you said, but oh so worth it.

 

[daftcat75]

Dr is looking for an alternate e-tube cap. She says her current cap is more of a catheter cap than an e-tube cap. It's threaded to screw onto something while the tube is just rubber tubing with no threads. Dr says we could trim the tube so it doesn't stick up as much but I'm worried about it getting caught in the kitty kollar if it's too short. I also don't know that it would lay comfortably without pulling if I had the velcro placement adjusted. Aside from the cap flying off, she doesn't seem too bothered by either the tube or the kollar. I just worry about her esophagus being exposed if she flings the cap off while I'm not home.

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

Yes, I think that tube definitely need to be capped. Exposure to things probably wouldn't be too good.

I'm still concerned about a deep inner ear infection causing the ataxia, which could also account for her head shaking (which is causing the cap to come off). This could also be part of the cause of her hiding and just not being herself. She's still on antibiotics, right? Have you and your Vet discussed that particular issue...IF she does have that, just make sure she's on the RIGHT antibiotic...not all antibiotics take care of everything.

She's been throw the wringer and it takes time to get back to normal . Hang in there.

 

[daftcat75]

She’s on Clavamox. Gets that via tube twice a day. For giving medicine alone, this tube is a lifesaver. I still can’t pill her even with the piller. She missed a Denimarin yesterday because of that. I will try harder today. I was trying to make yesterday low stress as we get used to our new routines.

I fashioned a tape wrap for her cap. It seems to work against the head shakes. But sometime in the night, it came off again. Good thing I have extra caps. Since it was morning, I figured I’d flush it and give her morning meds (and flush again) before sealing her up with a new tape wrapped cap. I’ll either get really good at the tape wrap or we need to find an alternate cap. There has to be a way to permanently affix a threaded adapter to the tube with which the cap can actually screw on to. It’s a catheter cap so can’t we affix the other end of the catheter to the tube? I’ll ask the Dr on our visit tomorrow. I’ll also ask for another blood draw. We can make certain there isn’t anything environmental sending any of her values in the wrong directions.

She ate much of half a can. I’m serving her buffet style at the moment. I just leave out several plates and let her come to them in her own time. She has a way of sitting in front of one of them or sitting in the kitchen to tell me that the plates are too old and the food in them no longer appeals to her. But she does eat most of what I put out so I’m not wasting much when I change out the plates.

She’s moving better each day. Her eye sometimes has moments where it almost looks normal. But she’s also wanting to sleep in a hiding spot. She came to cuddle near me last night briefly. But after her 2am buffet, it was back under the bookcase.

One thing that seems to help is to give her transdermal bupe. I don’t know if she’s in any pain from the ear. But I do know that she’s having a hard time getting comfortable and sleeping deeply. A little bupe in the ear and she finally looks peaceful and gets somebody twitching good sleep. And since I got 30 doses of the transdermal (vs 6 of the buccal), I don’t have to be stingy. If this makes her comfortable, so be it. I’d rather her sleep and be comfortable than restless and shifting and wobbly.

She surprised me last night playing her Cat Dancer for a few swats. I think that’s all the coordination she had for it. But that’s a good sign.

I keep telling myself as I’ve told myself through her IBD and pancreatitis, we’ll figure this out and adjust. As we always do.

 

[ellaandbosie]

I'm sure she'll be back to her old self soon! After all, the situation she's been in would be confusing and stressful to anyone. To be torn away from your home into a strange environment for days to have quasi-strangers poke and prod you would be a burden on even the most balanced of cats.

Maybe the situation's stress is just now coming down on her and she needs some time to process and cope? Cats are so sensitive, I can't imagine she wouldn't need some time to deal with the sudden changes in her life.
Fingers crossed!

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

I know they say to give Danamarin whole, but I also know some people HAVE crushed it and given it thru the E-tube, per their Vet. If you're having trouble pilling her, you might call your Vet and see if it's okay to do that. Better than nothing, I suspect.

 

[daftcat75]

I know they say to give Danamarin whole, but I also know some people HAVE crushed it and given it thru the E-tube, per their Vet. If you're having trouble pilling her, you might call your Vet and see if it's okay to do that. Better than nothing, I suspect.

The Dr told me not to do that. I'll try to pill her later. She had her morning buffet and bathroom rounds and is definitely in hiding for the morning. It looks awfully cozy where she is, though.

She may not even need the denimarin anymore. The last time we checked her levels only the ALT and GGT were out of range and only just so. I should learn later today the results of Wednesday's re-check.

 

[daftcat75]

Below the bookcase, next to the radiator.

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

Her eye looks really good in that pic!

 

[daftcat75]

Sometimes her eye almost looks normal.

Her balance is getting better but she's still walking like a cowboy who rode for too long. Wide back leg strides.

She frequently looks either nauseated or uncomfortable. She hasn't been hiding for the last few hours, though. She's been hanging out in the office with me but she's very shy about touch. Which is completely out of character for her. This cat used to trill at even a look and she'd lean right into any touch. I feel like maybe the med routine is traumatizing her. I stopped the Denamarin because I just won't pill her. I'm skipping an eye drops because I wanted the tube meds to be a gentle experience for her. I can figure out some other way to do the drops. I may just have to tip my hand every time and bust out the purrito. Maybe it won't be so traumatizing if it's predictable. But then I also think she's only going to need to see the towel once or twice before she catches on. I can't afford another stay but I do wish the vets would be the villain a little longer. I feel like she was happier to see me on those morning visits than she is most of the time now that she's home.

Dr sent over lab results from Wednesday's sample re-tested for chemistry. Liver enzymes normal! ALT and GGT back in range. I can discontinue the Denamarin. I will ask for a re-test tomorrow to make sure she's still good in that department since coming home. I want to make sure there's nothing environmental that caused the abnormal chemistry in the first place. (Like a Bissell detergent I used that I have my reservations about now.)

 

[daftcat75]

I think it's the eye routine. I think I'm doing it all wrong. It stresses me out. It stresses her out. I wish that could go down the tube too. We need a predictable routine. One less stressful. I think we need to work on some desensitization training. Practice the purrito with treats and no meds until she lets me wrap her. Because taking advantage of her weakness right now is not going to be sustainable. She'll get her fight back, I'll get cut, and we'll never be able to do that again without fur flying.

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

I'm posting a couple of threads for you on giving eye drops to cats. There are some interesting tips in them.

Difficulty Giving Extremely Anxious Cat Eye Drops

Eye Drops

Here are some tips from an old forum in the UK: applying cream for conjunctivitis

AND, finally, if all else fails, you might see if one of the techs at the Vet Hospital might want to earn a little extra cash and drop by your place and do it for you! That's what we did with one of our cats who was totally unruly, even though my hubby is a retired nurse. (treating humans and cats are apparently VERY different )