Krista's Care

[daftcat75]

She had a rough night looking like she was going to barf for several hours. I'm going to ask for a chemistry re-test to rule out home environmental factors or a backslide. I'm also going to ask for an X-ray to make sure the tube is still in the right place and that I haven't pushed it or pulled it somewhere it shouldn't be. For what I spent to get her better at the vet's office, I'd rather spend too much on the follow-up on extra re-tests and X-rays than spend too little and miss something that may have happened since she came home.

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

Could it be her IBD since she's not eating her usual raw food? Or was it mainly diarrhea that she had with IBD? Although Rawz should still be an ok diet for an IBD cat, no? OH! It may be the clavamox! I had a cat who could not take clavamox. It made him very nauseated.

 

[daftcat75]

Rawz is a good food for her. I would rotate it in as a guest star meal to spare a Rad Cat meal. Since she's no longer eating on a schedule, I feel more comfortable leaving Rawz than raw out for several hours.

Clavamox is a definite possiblity for her nausea. She gets that twice a day. I also started her back on Cerenia last night because I don't want her to barf with the tube in. I wonder if it's possible to get slippery elm bark in her tube without clogging it. I could never get her to eat it but that's the beauty of the tube. As long as she needs daily antibiotics for the ear, the tube stays in.

 

[daftcat75]

I just noticed that the Clavamox says take with food. I used food to lure her out of hiding. I left the syringes out in full view for her and she just sort of sat halfway between the radiator and the food. I grabbed and gently squished her down to do her tube meds. She seemed to know exactly what was coming and resigned herself to it. She has become very tolerant of the tube meds. Then when she was done, I left her with a plate of food. She seems to have taken several bites worth so maybe that will abate some of the nausea.

For my own peace of mind, our 2 pm appointment can't come soon enough.

 

[daftcat75]

I just gave her the Clavamox with food and she’s looking nauseated. Poor girl.

 

[daftcat75]

In the small victories column, she at least is wanting to ride this out in the office with me rather than her hiding spot.

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

As to the slippery elm and the tube, I don't know why you couldn't just mix some up in water without making it into a syrup. I've done it before where it didn't turn into anything thick-like and given it via syringe into their mouths.

Glad she's not in hiding.

Maybe you can get a different antibiotic?

 

[daftcat75]

A short period after her nausea presented, the moment passed. I laid out a towel with fish flakes on it and started to wrap her in the purrito for her eye drops. She snagged a flake and walked out the front of the purrito. Then as I was following her to try again, she went back to the food.

"That's okay girl. I want you doing that more than I want to be doing this."

I think I make the vet the villain for her drops today and we'll just keep trying the purrito without the drops until I can get her wrapped and released without early escapes.

I'll ask the Dr what she thinks about a different antibiotic. If it's just a brief moment like I just saw, I hate to see her suffer even that long but it would be better to keep moving forward on the ear infection. But if it was a long stretch like last night, we may need to change for her sake. Or I may just have to load up 5cc of food to go with the Clavamox every time whether she's going to eat directly after or not.

 

[daftcat75]

I let the Dr and techs be the villain for the stoma site dressing though Krista tolerates that pretty well. But also the eye drops and a B-12 shot. I love B-12. She seems a perkier cat already.

The alternate cap looked great until the first head shake and it flew. So we're just going to stick with the tape wrap cap.

Dr says Clavamox was more for the liver than the ear and it's okay if we let her roll off of that since it's making her nauseated.

So until we get the re-test back and make sure nothing reverted since coming home, she'll just have an evening med session of Entyce and Cerenia.

As her ear clears up, I'll let her roll off the Entyce and Cerenia and we can see about getting the tube removed next month.

She's walking like less of cowboy but she still belly flops some of her landings.

I finally feel like I could leave her for a few errands except I don't want to squander this, "I'm just going to sleep in the same room as you" mood that she's in. I suppose I could wait a cat nap's time on the errands.

 

[FeebysOwner]

I wish I could offer more than to just say and so does Krista. She has told you that she does believe in you 100% and she knows you feel the same about her.

 

[daftcat75]

Shoot! I’m glad I insisted on a re-test. Her ALT is creeping back up. Dr wants her to stay on Clavamox and recheck her on Wednesday. Poor cat with all these visits. She mostly handles them very well now. Except the dog that sniffed her carrier while I was settling her invoice. She may be mostly mute and mopey these days but she can still let out a hiss.

I guess I will be blending up some Rawz and making sure that I always give some food with the Clavamox since tube will always have a head start over mouth. Dr is also looking for alternatives to Denamarin that will work with the tube.

 

[daftcat75]

I think her meds are making her miserable!

I let her skip a Clavamox dose but she still looks awful. Like abdominal pain awful! And then I looked up Entyce side effects: nausea, lethargy, abdominal pain. I give her Cerenia for the Clavamox and Entyce for the anorexia the Cerenia causes.

Tomorrow she gets the day off all meds. Except the bupe. If she looks like she can’t get comfortable enough to sleep, I’ll give her the bupe.

We need to hit the reset button on the meds. Maybe if I give the Clavamox with food by tube, the nausea won’t be so bad that we need the Cerenia and Entyce.

Dr found Denamarin alternative: Liquid Hepato. I will order some of that.

Krista has managed a few weak trills tonight which is a few more trills than she’s mustered since coming home. She also wants to nuzzle into my hand. These are both things she hasn’t wanted to do much lately.

 

[daftcat75]

She looked really rough most of the night. I think the Entyce was causing abdominal pain and she’s had several loose stools last night and this morning. She did eventually recover for her 2am buffet run. She had another food run that I wasn’t even awake for (yes!). Yesterday, I think she ate about 7 oz. That’s about right where I want her.

She finished one of her plates, had a runny poop, and now she’s sleeping the morning off under the bookcase. I wonder if putting the food in front of her favorite tree has made her tree a less desirable hangout. Or it’s possible that she still feels bad from last night. I’ll give her a few hours and swap out the food plates. That’ll draw her out.

I have to say though. Since she’s been eating Rawz and taking Proviable, her poop has never smelled better. Even her Rad Cat poops weren’t this odor-less. If anything, they kind of have a faint smell like bread. Weird! Not complaining.

Her eye and her gait look pretty good today. I’ll post a picture later when she comes out again. I think she’s going to enjoy a med-free day.

 

[FeebysOwner]

I sure hope the trills and nuzzling is a sign of more good things to come!!

 

[daftcat75]

So I think it’s less hiding and more just a comfortable nook she’s found.

She looks really good today: more mobile, less mopey, more confortable, even bright eyed. She did a fish flake hunt. First in awhile. She didn’t go through all the trees or all the levels. But this was more than she’s done in awhile. It was disconcerting that she was leaving fish flakes behind. I added milk thistle powder for liver support to her food and she didn’t mind it one bit. She’s finished half a can already.

 

[daftcat75]

Her eye looks pretty good today. There’s still a little third eyelid, a little droop, some pupil contraction. But definitely going in the right direction.

 

[FeebysOwner]

She's looking good!!! Much, much better than before. Yay!!

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

Everything in the way she looks and acts sound great . Hopefully that milk thistle and Hepato will help with the ALT. Maybe you won't need the Entyce anymore, or if she does need an appetite enhancer, there are others you could try, if you haven't already.

A med-free day sounds like just what she needs! Enjoy her trills and head in hand nuzzles.

 

[daftcat75]

I thought this might happen. When I let her roll off the Entyce and the Cerenia, she doesn’t seem to have much interest in food tonight. Or rather, she patiently waited for me to fix something but then gave it a couple of sniffs and passed. She’s doing the crouch rather than the loaf but she also doesn’t look nearly as nauseated or as pained as she did last night. I said it would be a med-free day and I’m not going to react to this. She has a feeding tube after all and this is why I elected to keep it for a month. She gets tonight to wash out last night’s Entyce and Cerenia and if she’s still inappetant in the morning, I can try to give a smaller dose of the Entyce or ask the vet for a transdermal mirtazapine. At least I know those side effects with Krista.

 

[daftcat75]

I don't know. I'm trying not to worry but I just want her to be healthy and happy again. It's been one thing after another since early last year.

I put on the cat rock in the office and I'll let her chill here. I can go watch some TV in the other room. Sometimes I just have to be the cat roommate instead of the cat dad. "You do you, Krista. You know where to find me if you need me."