When Do You Know It's Time?

[huxleysmom]

Just wanted you to know that I'm thinking of you and Huxley. You're a wonderful custodian and he's incredibly fortunate to have you. I love his name!

Thank you. I don't feel like I am right now.
Mr Huxley is the name of a character from the book I was reading to him in the bathroom the first couple of days I got him. I was sitting on the floor, reading to him out loud on the second day when he came down from the stackable wash-drier, came to me and rub against my leg for the first time. We've been best buddies ever since.

 

[huxleysmom]

I managed to pill him this morning! Took him to the small bathroom, covered him with a towel and put him between my knees on the floor. I had much better access like that as he was not moving. I got 1/3 Cereni AND Pred in! Very proud of myself!
He doesn't seem to be mad at me right now and even just let me pet thim. This was nowhere near as bad for him as the previous times I tried. If he can continue to let me so this, we should able to manage things much better.

 

[MizLizzie]

Poor you! Poor Huxley! You are trying so hard, and in such a difficult situation. I hope you learn more on Monday. I, too, have to "sit" on my cats to pill them. I sit on my heels, and keep them tight together so he can't wriggle out under my butt. At my age, it is getting tough to do, but it's the only way. I use the skinny pill popper with the blue rubber tips, as it seems softer and less apt to scratch. I think Amazon has them. And I take his favorite brush into the powder room with us, and brush him a lot afterward. It helps a little bit, but he is still pissed for a couple of hours.

 

[babiesmom5]

That is good you got some medication in him. I know it is difficult, but do what you must to keep him medicated over the weekend.

I think a pill popper will be your best bet. Like you did, put a towel over him and place him between your knees on the floor...he cannot escape. Gently cup your hand over his head, extend his nose/throat upward, using your fingers, drop the jaw; with mouth open, aim pill popper to back of throat; plunge. Close cat's mouth. I usually follow with a few sips of water given via syringe. Lift lips and syringe bit of water just in back of the "fang" tooth where there is a gap. Some cats hate the water more than the pill process, so for them I follow quickly with soft wet food.

As MizLizzie said above, the skinny pill popper with the blue tip works well. It is indeed softer and less apt to scratch. You might get a couple of them as over time, the tip tends to stretch out. You want to keep that tip tight around the pill

I have found it much easier to put medications into a plain gelatin capsule. It goes down easier, less likely to stick in the throat or them to pocket or to taste it. I use a #3 CATcap
from www.capsuline.com. It has a chicken flavored coating, costs $7.99/100 and they ship fast. The best part about using a capsule is that you can put one or more medications in one capsule--less stress for cat--less stress for you. The #3 capsule holds a 5mg Pred plus 1/4-1/2 Cerenia or Pepcid. Using a capsule and a pill gun has worked wonders for me.

I know this is a rough road, but you are being a wonderful nurse for Huxley!

 

[PushPurrCatPaws]

Thank you for your response. Huxley has IBD, stomatitis (though it is controlled for now), several severe allergies, constipation and now possible pancreatitis.
He is almost 6 years old. ...
The vet told me to go up to 1/2 pepcid and add Cerenia too. She said if that wasn't working, we'd try pain meds (can't remember the name). She thinks he could also have pancreatitis. ...

He has been put on pain meds now for sure. I don't know if it's something we'll have to continue when he comes back. He's never had to be put on it before as he never appeared in pain. He was always nauseous to various degree, but never lethargic and looking miserable from constant pain like that. This was by far his roughest patch so far.

Huxley is getting nauseous again (wven with pepcic and Cerenia) he's also starting to be lethargic and is not interested in playing. No pooping either. This didn't last long. We shall see what the ultrasound and specialist say on Monday

Did the vet send you home with the pain meds?

They are not open tomorrow. I am going to try and get a pill popper tomorrow from the local stores and see if I can at least give him his pred. I have an appointment on Monday for the ultrasound. I'll ask them to give him a steroid shot. I might actually do the long term shot. Huxley is now hiding from me, and it's only day one of me trying to pill him. He's eaten some Cereni grounded in the dry food and seems less nauseous. between the medical boarding, all the meds they gave him (including a Cerenia and steroid shots), and the ultrasound+consult on Monday I have spent $1500 this week alone. I cannot afford to being him to the emergency vet tomorrow on top of that. I couldn't afford the $1500 to start with. He is my first cat. I am doing my best, but I am lost.
I contacted the shelter I got him from to ask for financial support, and also told them how bad it was from them to give out cats for adoptions that clearly have serious medical issues). She says it's been too long and I should have contacted them before, but she'll try and see with the big boss if they can help me.

I am so glad you have an ultrasound appointment with a radiologist! They should be able to get a much better idea of what is going on inside Huxley with that, especially if he has pancreatitis or some other major thing going on. When my last cat had pancreatitis, the radiologist could really see via the ultrasound that my cat's left pancreatic limb was enlarged, and they were able to do a needle biopsy of that area ... to find a particular nasty bacterial infection running rampant --especially in that left pancreatic duct area-- that they feared had spread to other organs. We went through some targeted antibiotics, and it did help for a while. But if Huxley does have pancreatitis, I'm sure the vet let you know that this is a progressive disease. My own vet and I had my cat on buprenex during her last year of life, to help with how very painful pancreatitis and the associated inflammation can be. We were unable to put my cat on pred for the inflammation because she also was diabetic, and the pred would have made her diabetes completely uncontrollable.
Sending you more hugs and understanding!

 

[huxleysmom]

Thank you for your support everyone! I have been a crying mess for the last fee days and your being here for me has been a wonderful help.
The vet did give me some pain meds to put on his gum. Now that I have managed to pill him, if he still looks poorly I'll try to give him a dose. We've both been sleeping and cuddling all morning. I couldn't sleep well last night.
I am looking forward to finding out exactly what's going on in there, and see the extent of the damage. The vet didn't really talk to me about pancreatitis, no. I hope against hope that he doesn't have it. We shall see. Unfortunately, financially I will not be able to afford any more tests, at least for a little while so a biopsy is not a possibility. I love him, but I do not believe in letting animals suffer, so if we cannot find a treatment that gives him a better quality of life or gets rid of the pain, and things start going downhill for him even with appropriate treatment, I will not let him suffer. It kills me to say it or to even think about it, but I think I need to mentally prepare myself for the possibility of it happening, hopefully not this time, but maybe in the near future, especially if I can't afford the treatments and regular trips to the vet anymore.

But today he took his meds, and tomorrow we're seeing a specialist. That's what I'll focus on for now.

 

[huxleysmom]

I just gave him the pain meds, but I have a feeling he swallowed it and it didn't get on his gum. How the heck am I supposed to do that?!

 

[babiesmom5]

You drizzle it slowly over the gums. You can also put it on (I use a gloved) finger and swab it around the gums little by little.

The pain med is probably Buprenex and it is meant to be absorbed through the gums.

Although he swallowed it, he probably got some benefit from it, but effect will be slower.

Think through the drizzle process for the next application.

 

[huxleysmom]

You drizzle it slowly over the gums. You can also put it on (I use a gloved) finger and swab it around the gums little by little.

The pain med is probably Buprenex and it is meant to be absorbed through the gums.

Although he swallowed it, he probably got some benefit from it, but effect will be slower.

Think through the drizzle process for the next application.

Thank you. I'll try that. How long does it take to have some effect on him. About 10 minutes after he ate a good bit of the dry food.

 

[babiesmom5]

I am shocked your vet did not mention the possibility of pancreatitis or suggest testing.

There are two (blood) tests. One is the SNAP fPL which is done there in the vet's office and only takes a few minutes to get results. Caution; this test can be unreliable unless the pancreatitis is really, really bad. The "gold standard" is the Spec fPL which must be sent off to Texas A&M University and takes a couple of days to get back. Totally worth it.

I would ask the specialist on Monday about this test.

In the meantime, if it is pancreatitis, the only treatment strategies proven effective are fluid therapy, pain management and nutritional support. You are doing this, so hang in there.

 

[babiesmom5]

The fact that Huxley ate about 10 minutes afterwards suggests that at least some of it was absorbed. It kicks in pretty quickly.

Your vet probably gave you directions, which you should follow, but it can be given up to 2-3 times a day to control pain.

Keeping pain down is one of the keys to keeping them eating.

 

[huxleysmom]

He is back to sleeping now. I am not sure I will be able to afford those extra blood tests on Monday. I am a teacher, and I don't have that kind of money. It's a harsh reality that I have to face.

The fact that Huxley ate about 10 minutes afterwards suggests that at least some of it was absorbed. It kicks in pretty quickly.

Your vet probably gave you directions, which you should follow, but it can be given up to 2-3 times a day to control pain.

Keeping pain down is one of the keys to keeping them eating.

 

[huxleysmom]

The pain meds must have had some effect as he is now eating his second small portion of wet food. This one has a sneaky 1/4 pepcid in it
He is very wary of me though and won't let me get close to him. He only comes out of hiding from behind the tv stand if I am sitting on my recliner. He runs and hides when I stand up. This is what I was afraid about pilling him.

 

[huxleysmom]

I managed to pill him agan, and tried to go slower with the pain meds, unfortunately, the syringe was a little stuck and I pushed too hard and it went in all at once again except this time poor Huxley panicked and started foamong and drooling profusely at the mouth! Luckily I was aware this could happen so I didn't panick, but it was very impressive. Poor thing was terrified and after I let him go, he went into hiding. It is the first time since I got him in January that he didn't spend the morning cuddling with me in bed.
He is still hiding from me and keeps his distance when I am standing up he goes hiding behind the tv stand. This breaks my heart. I am suppoed to be safety and love for him, the person he goes and cuddles with and feels happy to be around. If I have to do this forever, this will destroy our relationship. What worries me even more if that no matter what meds he gets, he remains very lethargic and depressed looking. Sleeping a lot, lying on his side and not grooming much. He doesn't even have the energy to use his scratching pad. He has eaten all of his meals though so I guess it's something. I worry about tomorrow. I have read that prognosis is guarded for cats who do not respond to normal treatment for IBD and those who have chronic pancreatitis ( he had "suspected pancreatitis" written on his medical record from the shelter. Something they never mention when they read it out to me the day I adopted him so I assume it's chronic or at least reoccuring). I knew nothing about cats and when I asked the vet about it during his first visit after I adopted him, she assured me he was healthy so I went along with it. I realize now he wasn't, but that's beside the point.
If they tell me we need to do more tests, I can't afford them, if he continues to not be well, I can't afford to do medical boarding anymore. He's been unwell for more than 10 days now and nothing seems to shake this off. I don't know. I'm an emotional wreck, he is unwell and now afraid of me...
This disease sucks, I hate the shelter for making me fall in love with a chronically sick cat and I worry about getting myself in more debt. This is not what I had envisaged when I decided to get my first cat.

 

[PushPurrCatPaws]

Huxleysmom, I am so very sorry you and Huxley are going through this.

 

[arouetta]

I'm going to sound like a broken record, but get a second opinion. I just got caught up on the thread and I'm really, really bothered that your vet treats to an arbitrary limit rather than to symptoms. There are lots of times arbitrary limits are good, but in this case it sounds like the arbitrary limit is well below what other vets all over prescribe. And when one hits a limit but the patient still has symptoms, that's when you find something more powerful or you start combining medicines for a cumulative effect.

Get a second opinion.

 

[lavishsqualor]

Just know that we are all pulling for you and Huxley. Hopefully, he'll recover and it will be a brave new world for him.

 

[huxleysmom]

I am. We are going for an ultrasound and a consult with an internal medicine specialist tomorrow. Hopefully we'll get a better, more appropriate treatment.

I'm going to sound like a broken record, but get a second opinion. I just got caught up on the thread and I'm really, really bothered that your vet treats to an arbitrary limit rather than to symptoms. There are lots of times arbitrary limits are good, but in this case it sounds like the arbitrary limit is well below what other vets all over prescribe. And when one hits a limit but the patient still has symptoms, that's when you find something more powerful or you start combining medicines for a cumulative effect.

Get a second opinion.

 

[babiesmom5]

I totally agree with arouetta . Thank you for articulating this so well!

 

[huxleysmom]

I only found out 3 days before leaving that what he had was IBD and not simple allergies. Had I been told earlier I would have taken him to a specialist straight away.
He ate well last night, and without pain meds. The lethargy still concerns me though. He has also been wheezing a lot, but I suspect it's an allergic reation to a nee food I tried to give him to see if he would eat that (it had no gums and some probiotic in it, so I thought it could help). The thing is he was already wheezing a hit when I came back from my vacation. His mouth also looks red (stomatitis). I wonder if his immune system is just attacking him on all front. Poor baby. We are on our way soon. I guess we'll have some sort of an answer after this.

I totally agree with arouetta . Thank you for articulating this so well!