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BTW does anyone know if it’s normal for them to perk up like this when they start taking pred. for cancer?
Pred can give a boost in the appetite and liveliness, it reduces the inflammation and hence some of the pain linked to that, so the cat feels better. But it's a palliative treatment and it is only hiding some of the symptoms while the disease is still there.BTW does anyone know if it’s normal for them to perk up like this when they start taking pred. for cancer?
I had to open my cat's mouth everyday to feed her, because she wasn't able to eat on her own anymore.I am terrified to force his mouth open as the cancer in his jaw. I used to think I could pill anything, but not this cat.
I'm sure you will.So all in all a good day! I’ll take it.
I'm sorry to read this.Good News: He followed me into the bathroom twice last night. He likes to be picked up and petted and rocked for several minutes (even though all I want to do is go back to sleep!). He has done this for a few years now. He gives me a nice bath while I am holding him.
Bad News: When I wake him to pet him in his bed, he does not look like a cat who is happy. I tested it out and my other two look up at you bright eyed and inquisitive when you wake them. So there is a real difference; I’m not imagining. I told the vet he got better on the pred and she cautioned me that she really didn’t think it was an infection. So that report from the radiologist (which I haven’t seen) was probably pretty grim. He also doesn’t move from sleeping place to sleeping place.
I had a question about this. I’m supposed to reduce the pred to 1 pill a day (5 mg pills I think) after 7 days, which is coming up. Not sure if that’s the right way to go.The cat that showed up at my house with oral cancer did amazingly well on prednisone for two years. His drooling stopped, he acted normal. The drooling was so bad it soaked his bedding every day, and he was covered in a black substance that was the drool changing black with all the bacteria in it. I did reduce the amount to finally one pill a day, just to the point it stopped his drooling. He acted happy until the end. I hated it when people would tell me to stop giving him long-term prednisone, about all the side effects. I always answered them "he's dying, anything I can do that makes him feel better, I will!" He did not suffer any side effects, he finally died when somehow he broke his pelvis.
My heart goes out to you, bless you for helping him, it means everything to him.....
Yes agree about pk its a bad situation. That is good he is feeling better. You could try pumpkin for the constipation. He may need something else when he is on opiates.Update: I had a bit of a back and forth with the vet yesterday over prescribing him something more than the pred, but today I finally got to pick up some gabapentin and she wrote a scrip for bupenex (sp), but the compounding pharmacy isn’t open until Monday, plus it’s a controlled substance. (Sorry, but one of my pet (no pun intended) peeves is that we all have to suffer because a small % of the population has a substance abuse problem. I’m not minimizing the horror of addiction, but I wonder how many scrips for pain pills don’t get written because Dr.’s understandably don’t want their name flagged on some list.)
But anyway. He had a good night last night as well. Not eating quite as well, but that’s probably because the rush of getting new food flavors (I switched him to pate, same brand tho.) He finally went downstairs and sat in front of the window, instead of the bed he’s been sleeping in all day pretty much non-stop since the diagnosis. He’s also been jumping into bed with me about 5am like he normally would.
Bad News: I notice he’s constipated and he now seems a bit congested. I hope the tumor isn’t in his nose as well. The vet did say today that we caught it very early so maybe that’s why he’s not going downhill as fast as many cats who have this (?)
Most cats with cancer stay on a steady dose of it since it treats the cancer and symptoms. Ask dvm about that. The reduction depends on what dose was started. Is he going to stay on 5mg a day?I had a question about this. I’m supposed to reduce the pred to 1 pill a day (5 mg pills I think) after 7 days, which is coming up. Not sure if that’s the right way to go.
Have you tried mixing the food with Fortiflora?I got some more water into him this afternoon. Went much better than the syringe feeding. When I went upstaires to feed his children (they are his kittens that I bottle fed, I trapped him later and brought him inside), I heard him come up the stairs looking for food. Prepared bowl one - no interest, bowl two - also no interest. Squeezed the juice out of the proplan urninary veterinary diet, mixed in some pate and he ate some of that.
Oh and before he ate, he pooped - yeah!!!!
Then after he ate I stuck him in the bathroom and turned on the shower and let him sit in the steam for 15 minutes. He wasn’t happy about that and pawed at the door, but at least he has the will to express his displeasure. Let him out and he went to the water bowl and drank some water. Yeah! Then he came over and jumped up on the bed and is stretched out next to me. Still can here him wheezing though.
Still problem remains that I can’t get any meds into him.