Krista's Care

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daftcat75

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*I like the way you think!* No need to add unnecessary stress, I agree! ;) :yess: :goodluck::cheerleader:
Same reason I stopped "keeping score" in her food journal. Until the poops firm up and her digestion sorts out, shoveling more food into her isn't going to improve the situation. It just adds extra time and stress on me as I have to weigh and record her remainders and wonder why 250+ calories for a 6 lbs cat isn't enough. (Because it's squirting through her! That's why it's never enough.)
 

daftcat75

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I just ordered "8 to 10" (roughly 4.5 lbs) bone-in hind rabbit legs from Fossil Farms in New Jersey. If it ships this week or next, I may be able to make the next batch with these legs. The legs cost $72 and the shipping cost $80. But if she likes these, that shipping cost doesn't go up much if I double the order. As it is, this purchase is on par with my current costs (without the beer I get in return for giving the remainders away.) I don't know that this will ever be a good economical approach, but it would allow me to stash away extra legs without having to process extra rabbits. This is a stop gap until the local farm/butcher can fill my special order. I hope to eventually have a standing order for legs from the local farm and that should bring my costs much lower.
 

tarasgirl06

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I just ordered "8 to 10" (roughly 4.5 lbs) bone-in hind rabbit legs from Fossil Farms in New Jersey. If it ships this week or next, I may be able to make the next batch with these legs. The legs cost $72 and the shipping cost $80. But if she likes these, that shipping cost doesn't go up much if I double the order. As it is, this purchase is on par with my current costs (without the beer I get in return for giving the remainders away.) I don't know that this will ever be a good economical approach, but it would allow me to stash away extra legs without having to process extra rabbits. This is a stop gap until the local farm/butcher can fill my special order. I hope to eventually have a standing order for legs from the local farm and that should bring my costs much lower.
You're planning for every exigency, like I do. Good on ya! Krista has an excellent caregiver/family/servant/provider. :yess:
 

daftcat75

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Canada Rawz order was canceled due to a lack of inventory and supply from distributor. I'm much relieved that I bought the case in the city yesterday. I am going to run out of 3 oz cans in a couple of weeks. Hopefully the Rawz rep is correct and that distribution should be flowing in about a week's time. They were changing over production facilities.

Today's lunch visit went as smooth as could be. She ate her yeast bite and a quarter ounce of raw. What she does with the rest of her portions is up to her. She won't starve. But she may not finish her portions either. She doesn't eat nearly as much during the day as she does at night.

When her poops become solid again, I'll be happy to eliminate "elevenses"-her 11am'ish meal that comes out of a feeder at the moment. If I can get out of coming home for lunch, I can move her elevenses to noon and 3 pm feeders like before.

She pooped at 5 pm. I saw the poop posture on the Poopcam. But once again, the cloud recording didn’t record the money shot. I did see a relaxed Krista give a scratch or two, sniff once, and walk away. She didn’t show any signs of discomfort, distress, or carpet mischief afterwards. I came home to mostly pudding with some poop bits. Single scoop. 👍
 

daftcat75

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11 pm we had some smelly butt pee that she buried. I'll give her credit for burying it. But it makes it hard to know what we're dealing with.

It really took something out of her. She was only weakly interested in her yeasty raw bite after I cleaned up. And it took her another 20 minutes after that to become interested in her canned portion. Usually she comes over and mows down at least the top layer. That's helpful because the top layer has the Optagest (digestive enzymes.)

One thing I wonder is whether she will accept feeder portions with Optagest added. It seems like it starts digesting the food the moment it's added. It could be a mushy mess of partially digested food stuff by the time the feeder opens.

Well, she ate the top layer and under the bookcase she goes. She's resilient. She'll finish later. And probably most of the feeder portions too.
 

tarasgirl06

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11 pm we had some smelly butt pee that she buried. I'll give her credit for burying it. But it makes it hard to know what we're dealing with.

It really took something out of her. She was only weakly interested in her yeasty raw bite after I cleaned up. And it took her another 20 minutes after that to become interested in her canned portion. Usually she comes over and mows down at least the top layer. That's helpful because the top layer has the Optagest (digestive enzymes.)

One thing I wonder is whether she will accept feeder portions with Optagest added. It seems like it starts digesting the food the moment it's added. It could be a mushy mess of partially digested food stuff by the time the feeder opens.

Well, she ate the top layer and under the bookcase she goes. She's resilient. She'll finish later. And probably most of the feeder portions too.
Wonder about the sardines Furballsmom Furballsmom posted about? I've yet to meet a cat who can resist sardines.
 

daftcat75

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She ate well last night. She sang well this morning.

She had yet another poopy butt pee this morning. A little of everything.

I got an email from the compounding pharmacy that her prescription has been filled and it’s ready to ship. Hopefully that means it arrives this week rather than next. 🤞

She could be starting the chemo on Sunday. I’m more nervous about discouraging my licker from licking me than probably any other aspect.
815D1257-F062-45BE-B54F-59D06C29ED94.jpeg
I’m not supposed to come into contact with her fluids while she’s on the chemo.
 
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daftcat75

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Wonder about the sardines Furballsmom Furballsmom posted about? I've yet to meet a cat who can resist sardines.
I’m not trying to add sardines or anchovies or any other variable to her diet at the moment. I more wanted to know if she would enjoy anchovy flavored medicine and if it was possible that we could finish the tin. It’s probably better that we don’t. Even if it wasn’t packed in oil with salt.

I may consider the sardines if she won’t take her chemo any other way. But 0.1 mL is small enough that I could probably shoot that down her throat (and not squirt it out the other side of her mouth) if she’s not willing to eat it.
 

tarasgirl06

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She ate well last night. She sang well this morning.

She had yet another poopy butt pee this morning. A little of everything.

I got an email from the compounding pharmacy that her prescription has been filled and it’s ready to ship. Hopefully that means it arrives this week rather than next. 🤞

She could be starting the chemo on Sunday. I’m more nervous about discouraging my licker from licking me than probably any other aspect.
View attachment 323926
I’m not supposed to come into contact with her fluids while she’s on the chemo.
Those disposable gloves might come in handy during this time?
 

daftcat75

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Those disposable gloves might come in handy during this time?
I always have a box of those blue gloves on hand because I use them for butchering, grinding, and making her food. I can use those for cleaning the box.

But I'm not resting or sleeping in those. That 5am belly ride, "let me lick your nose if my song hasn't stirred you yet", do I sleep with a finger cot on my nose?

I'll also need to get her a decoy blanket. She loves to knead and groom the same blanket I love to sleep under. Probably for the same reason. It's soft and warm. Like mama cat. I'll have to get her a second one that she can slobber all over.
 

daftcat75

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I am testing out an increase of digestive enzymes this morning. Instead of a smidgen (1/32 tsp), I opted for a pinch (1/16) in her second breakfast. She didn't seem to mind that as second breakfast was nearly gone by the time I left. There's also a smidgen of Optagest in her first feeder portion. I'm not sure what it's going to do to that food sitting in there for a couple of hours or if she'll even eat it after it's done what it's done. We shall see.
 

tarasgirl06

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I always have a box of those blue gloves on hand because I use them for butchering, grinding, and making her food. I can use those for cleaning the box.

But I'm not resting or sleeping in those. That 5am belly ride, "let me lick your nose if my song hasn't stirred you yet", do I sleep with a finger cot on my nose?

I'll also need to get her a decoy blanket. She loves to knead and groom the same blanket I love to sleep under. Probably for the same reason. It's soft and warm. Like mama cat. I'll have to get her a second one that she can slobber all over.
Sounds like that's a "maybe yes". How serious is it? I know nothing about chemo or chem protocols.
 

daftcat75

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If you’re feeling nerdy,
Nitrogen mustard - Wikipedia

Chlorambucil is chemically related to mustard gas. The nitrogen mustard group is what alkylates DNA (attaches itself to the guanine side of GC base pair.). It then joins with the cytosine side to form a cross-link that makes reading and replicating that base pair useless. If enough of these alkylations and cross links happen, the cell’s genome is useless and a genome monitoring factor signals cell death by suicide. It’s no use if it can’t reproduce.

This mechanism is not specific to any kind of cells. And there’s always cell death and turnover. How this helps with cancer is that it is cells that are actively trying to replicate their genome that are going to find these errors most often. Enough of them, and the suicide signal is given. Therefore it’s most effective against cells that are rapidly dividing. Like cancer cells. But also like bone marrow and immune cells like lymphocytes.

Its mechanism works the same whether it’s ingested, inhaled, or dermal contact. Therefore, if I don’t wish to also undergo chemotherapy alongside her, I would be wise to protect myself against accidental or incidental contact.

It should also be noted that the alkylation events and the formation of cross links doesn’t trigger programmed cell death itself. It’s when the cell is trying to divide and replicate that genome that the monitoring factor will signal programmed death if enough errors in the genome are encountered. In other words, it would be immune and cancer cells in me that would also be vulnerable. But if she licks me once or twice, I’m not likely to lose my hair or have my immune system suppressed. I just don’t want prolonged and severe contact with her medicine or her fluids while she’s taking it.
 

tarasgirl06

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Tldr; My cat will be a chemical weapon. 🤦‍♂️ 😹
Yeah. I had a vague idea along these lines when I was a little kid. Never did anything about it, as it was just kind of a light-bulb concept and I was a little kid with no idea what to do with it. But it makes sense to me.
Very glad casual contact isn't going to be a problem. You can't quarantine your cat, after all.
 

daftcat75

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Solid poop! A little soft and a little pale. But every solid poop is a victory!


History though predicts a blowout following a solid. Usually something fierce as there’s little solid left to stop it. 🤦🏼‍♂️🐈💦

🤞
 

MissClouseau

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But I'm not resting or sleeping in those. That 5am belly ride, "let me lick your nose if my song hasn't stirred you yet", do I sleep with a finger cot on my nose?
Maybe you could try a bit smelly moisturizer/non-toxic oil for that. Not too smelly that she would get irritated even when she sits next to you, but smelly enough she wouldn't get her nose on your hand or face. Anywhere she's not supposed to lick.
 

daftcat75

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She had pee pad pudding trying so hard to be box poop. It wasn’t the blowout I was fearing. But it also didn’t land in the box. Sometimes she faces a goofy direction and tonight was a pee pad poop. With the good pee pads, I’m confidently covered and cleanup was a snap. These pads really hold their own.
 

daftcat75

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Maybe you could try a bit smelly moisturizer/non-toxic oil for that. Not too smelly that she would get irritated even when she sits next to you, but smelly enough she wouldn't get her nose on your hand or face. Anywhere she's not supposed to lick.
Anything scented is that much more fragrance for a smaller animal. If she barfs (or has a looser stool), it becomes a bigger problem than redirecting her licker.
 
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