- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #21
- Joined
- Apr 2, 2020
- Messages
- 44
- Purraise
- 64
He's prescribed an antibiotic pill, a cerenia pill and proviable paste. I can administer liquid medication no problem. Atopica is coming in liquid form and the antibiotic is being replaced with a liquid. He's had tons of cerenia shots but I don't want to take him back, especially when I can't even go in with him and they'd have him in there for two hours or more; the clinic is extremely busy right now and probably working with a skeleton crew. I could try buying more pill masking products but it would take a long time to arrive and I've already tried pill pocket dough/margarine/cheese (with the pill gun).
Last night I got in maybe 2/3 of a proviable paste dose after a very bad time. He threw it up almost immediately and had diarrhea again. He is simply too smart for pills, I don't know what else to say. We swaddle him up, hold his head still, he keeps his mouth clamped shut so I open it, he uses his tongue to deflect the pill gun, I eventually get the pill gun in the right place and shoot, I remove the gun and keep his mouth closed, I massage his throat and blow gently on his nose until he swallows. I wait a few more seconds and let go. He spits out the dissolving pill. We tortured him for over 15 minutes trying to get cerenia down. I have watched all of the videos with sedated pets showing how easy it is. This would only work with very small pills or a different cat, he either keeps his throat closed or I am the biggest idiot in the world. I really think it's the former because I bet I could pill my incredibly aggressive cat more easily--I'd have no face afterwards but he'd swallow it. I thought about breaking up the pill into small pieces but it caked apart and I'm down to only one more after all of the wasted attempts.
I've already talked to every mobile vet in the city when I was trying to get a second opinion, they won't help during the crisis because I'm not an existing client. He weighed 8.6lbs yesterday and barely ate. Today he's eaten much more (maybe the mirtazapine is working) but not nearly enough. I'm down to two options:
1) Skip the nauseating probiotic paste and go straight to sprinkling the pill over his food. I doubt he'll eat it but I haven't tried. Give him atopica and the liquid antibiotic when they get here. See if all of this does anything--anyone know how long it might take for them to start working? I don't want to keep taking him back for fluid/B12 shots, the longer we go the more he'll need hospitalization due to lack of appetite and I am NOT putting him through that again.
2) Take him to hospital #2 and put in an e-tube. It was discussed briefly but they hoped his appetite would come back. Medications would be painless to administer and he'd be able to get the nutrients and hydration he needs at home. I actually wanted one put in much earlier in this saga but hospital #1 wanted their hospitalization money.
My focus is on his quality of life. I'm obviously scared of putting him through another surgery, as comparatively minor as it is, especially if this is cancer and won't even be fixed with IBD treatment. But freaking him out with medication or force feeding him when he still wouldn't be getting enough calories anyway and traumatizing him every week with another vet trip is no life either. Option #3 is giving up and letting him go...but an e-tube could potentially give him his life back?
I'm sorry if I sound snippy, I appreciate all and any help, I'm just completely fried. We lost another cat very suddenly two weeks before all of this started and now another cat is showing some scary symptoms that will have to be investigated. I'm losing all of my babies at once and only hospitals will allow me to throw my dwindling money at them. I just want my boy to feel okay again.
Last night I got in maybe 2/3 of a proviable paste dose after a very bad time. He threw it up almost immediately and had diarrhea again. He is simply too smart for pills, I don't know what else to say. We swaddle him up, hold his head still, he keeps his mouth clamped shut so I open it, he uses his tongue to deflect the pill gun, I eventually get the pill gun in the right place and shoot, I remove the gun and keep his mouth closed, I massage his throat and blow gently on his nose until he swallows. I wait a few more seconds and let go. He spits out the dissolving pill. We tortured him for over 15 minutes trying to get cerenia down. I have watched all of the videos with sedated pets showing how easy it is. This would only work with very small pills or a different cat, he either keeps his throat closed or I am the biggest idiot in the world. I really think it's the former because I bet I could pill my incredibly aggressive cat more easily--I'd have no face afterwards but he'd swallow it. I thought about breaking up the pill into small pieces but it caked apart and I'm down to only one more after all of the wasted attempts.
I've already talked to every mobile vet in the city when I was trying to get a second opinion, they won't help during the crisis because I'm not an existing client. He weighed 8.6lbs yesterday and barely ate. Today he's eaten much more (maybe the mirtazapine is working) but not nearly enough. I'm down to two options:
1) Skip the nauseating probiotic paste and go straight to sprinkling the pill over his food. I doubt he'll eat it but I haven't tried. Give him atopica and the liquid antibiotic when they get here. See if all of this does anything--anyone know how long it might take for them to start working? I don't want to keep taking him back for fluid/B12 shots, the longer we go the more he'll need hospitalization due to lack of appetite and I am NOT putting him through that again.
2) Take him to hospital #2 and put in an e-tube. It was discussed briefly but they hoped his appetite would come back. Medications would be painless to administer and he'd be able to get the nutrients and hydration he needs at home. I actually wanted one put in much earlier in this saga but hospital #1 wanted their hospitalization money.
My focus is on his quality of life. I'm obviously scared of putting him through another surgery, as comparatively minor as it is, especially if this is cancer and won't even be fixed with IBD treatment. But freaking him out with medication or force feeding him when he still wouldn't be getting enough calories anyway and traumatizing him every week with another vet trip is no life either. Option #3 is giving up and letting him go...but an e-tube could potentially give him his life back?
I'm sorry if I sound snippy, I appreciate all and any help, I'm just completely fried. We lost another cat very suddenly two weeks before all of this started and now another cat is showing some scary symptoms that will have to be investigated. I'm losing all of my babies at once and only hospitals will allow me to throw my dwindling money at them. I just want my boy to feel okay again.