2/26 Morris AMPS 317; PMPS 473

yesterday: viewtopic.php?f=9&t=7408

In hopes that he would eat more last night, I opened up a can of MC Fancy Feast! By this morning, he had eaten the entire can of MC Fancy Feast, about 1/4 can EVO & 1/4 can Friskies. For his dining pleasure today, I have put a full can of MC Fancy Feast, full can LC Fancy Feast & 1/2 can EVO spread out in his divided bowl. Before I left for work this morning, he had already eaten about 3/4 of the MC Fancy Feast! Today, I have put his food bowl on top of his carrier so that it will be higher than his stomach as he eats.

Last night & again this morning, his grumpiness seems to have returned. He was swiping at me with his paw (claws out a bit even) for no apparent reason! I do feel, however, that I am getting better at giving him his bupe! I do think that the last few doses have indeed been getting into his cheek pouch! I guess it just took some time, patience & practice!!

Everything in his LB appears to be normal.

Still have not heard back from my vet (I faxed her a list of questions yesterday afternoon!). Worse case scenerio, I will be seeing her tomorrow morning. I have Morris scheduled for his fasting labwork to be drawn at 9:10am and then I am returning to the vet with drooler at 11:30 for her annual check-up & vaccines.

Re: 2/26 Morris AMPS 317

Hi Gwen

Hows grumpy pants doing? :lol: Sounds like your getting very good at handling Morris's issues, and boy oh boy - that was a lot of reading yesterday!

Good luck tomorrow at the vets - you're keeping them busy!!

Re: 2/26 Morris AMPS 317

I'm glad Morris is eating better, and maybe the feistiness means that he is feeling better too (at least I hope so). Good work, Gwen, keep it up!

Looks like the MC food is hard at work! Today, he ate a can of MC Fancy Feast, 1/4 can EVO & 1/4 can LC Fancy Feast.

Heard back from the vet just a bit ago (hence I am late at posting here!). She does not have a problem with giving me a script for mirtz tomorrow when I am at the clinic. She is hesitant to give me injectable pepcid right now.....does not want to over medicate him. If he does not start eating with the mirtz, then she will give me some injectable pepcid to try. She said for daily SQ fluids, I can give between 100-250 mls depending on how much he is eating/drinking on his own.

I have now taken away his food for the night.....Morris has fasting labwork being done in the morning. I am to give him 1/2 dose of insulin at regular time (7:30am) & then he gets his labwork drawn just after 9am

My vet also wanted to ask my opinion on another diabetic cat in the practice!!! This patient is newly diagnosed (Jan) & is new to their clinic as well. She is seeing another vet in the clinic, but that vet is away right now & my vet is taking over while the other vet is away. This poor cat was started on 2u lantus bid!! Also has pancreatitis & is still eating kitty crack!! The cat hasn't been eating well the past several days, so the owner has decreased down to 1.5u....my vet was asking my opinion on dosing because she knows that I know more about lantus than she does!!! I reminded her that I have given her a copy of the Tilly protocol (which she found in my chart that is at home with her right now). We also both agreed that the owner should get the cat off the kitty crack & on to wet food with lower carbs! My vet was also asking me what exactly (brands & flavors) I feed Morris.

hey i am busy reading your recap of morris's p-titis right now, but just fast quick wanted to catch you before you signed off for night about the hospital's new diabetic cat with p-titis, sure can let her add in canned food, but would not try to do whole food switch right now, while cat has p-titis, some cats do not take readily to having food switched and as you know he HAS to get enough calories in a day~ it is too common for p-titis to go hand in hand with HL and that is a very bad combo. can work on getting cat completely off dry once it is well. also make sure she is testing every single day for ketones, that is something else that is tied in closely with CP flares.

brb to talk about morris, gotta finishing reading and thinking...

Gwen:

Will the vet give you the bupe as a sub-q injection if you're having difficulty with it as an oral med? After Gabby's dental, the vet gave me the injectable form since she knew I knew how to give a shot. If Mr. Crankypants is giving you a hard time with oral meds, this may be an option, as well.

I'm glad to hear he's eating more, even if it's MC.

okay first thing i HAVE to say~ "over medicating"? no. when someone, be it a human or cat, that has a condition that requires certain medications it is not called over medicating based on number of meds needed. think of it like a dish that is being prepared, you can't make boeuf bourguignon with the same number of ingredients as mac and cheese, one is not right and the other wrong, it is just what is required. neither pepcid nor B12 injection fall under the dangerous side effect categories in the slightest.
btw, i saw on yesterday's thread price for injectable pepcid (famotadine) as 17-20 bucks? i get it for $1.98 for 20ml bottle from vet supply, so that is what it costs your vet. some mark it up big time before selling to client, some do not. and the B12 you can get over internet, also does not break the bank.
now about the SQuids....as i tired to explain to you other day but prolly did not explain well, they are needed during a flare, through the whole course of a flare to flush out toxins that are being made by the mis-firing pancreas. those toxins are the main reason why a cat is nauseous and doesn't eat! 'the solution to the pollution is dilution' ...flush those toxins out for a better feeling cat and a quicker recovery. yes everyday. waring the bag in a bowl of warm water will help him be a better patient. however there are cats that are never good patients *cough* my cat *cough* and you just have to scruff them or wrap them up burrito style in a big towel and get it done. if you squeeze the bag with your third hand it will go quicker. if you don't have a third hand...well you can talk to your doctor about grafting one on :razz: or maybe have someone help you? i have to scruff my cat and work needle with same hand and hold and squeeze bag with other but i've given SQ's a few thousand times. ya can maybe hold bag under chin and squeeze it that way or there is a way to use a blood pressure cuff to squeeze bag if you happen to have around. make sure you have cat up on a table or counter when you are giving the SQuids. once you are used to doing them, really you can get 150 mls into a cat in a minute or two tops easily.
i like mirtz better than cypro as a feline appy stim for a host of reasons, the most easy to understand is that it is a tiny piece of pill once every 3 days instead of cypro's every 12 hours! for teh 'difficult' cat that alone is a huge reason to get that mirtz RX from vet tomorrow. also it really can make a huge difference, 20-30 minutes after giving it you have a cat that is purring away and eating everything in sight. try it. stress for both you melts away when he is on it and eating and asking for more.
another point i wanted to hit~ why aren't you givign your not so easy cat the bupe via injection rather than into cheek pouch? it is same stuff ya know (unless your vet did something weird to it like add flavoring. it should be a clear liquid from either a little vial or injecta-pen thingie, is that what you have?) i tried giving my cat bupe once that way, after wiping it off his head and cleaning up the blood off my hands, decided injection was just easier for everyone. ;-)
fluids, pain meds, anti-nausea meds, appy stims. the first 4 things you need around for flares. some bases your vet is covering well (pain meds, good) but others are being left open. you fix.

good luck tomorrow. stand your ground and leave with everything you need for your cat's flares.