10/4 Jack amps 223 +4 202 +8 90 - bw results

[saltycat]

last condo

The last few days have been "the litterbox & bean sanity challenge". He is on AB for a UTI which I am assuming was a part of the problem. He was making an absolute disaster zone of the pantry where the LB's are. I was spending close to an hour a day cleaning up after him, not fun before kitty breakfast and coffee.

I had enough, I set up the camera again to figure out what was going on. I thought he was just getting used to using the pads since some mythical pixie would come and put new ones down. The truth was a bit comical and should prove easier to fix. He must be getting senile, he would stick his head in the box, without stepping in... and do his business all over the floor. It would run down the grout lines going all over the place.

I put a small low sided temporary box in front of the entrance to the main box. This worked for a day, he would stick his head in, and box number 2 would catch the pee. Now he is using the low sided box and so far(paws crossed) no accidents. I hope the trend continues.

He seems a bit better on the gaba, I added a small night time dose during dinner. He is still eating well. Last night he weighed in at 12lb, I hope it is an anomoly since he was 12.4 a few days ago and I don't have a baby scale to accurately weigh him.

Got the rest of the BW from the vets office. No call back from the vet about the results after her voicemail. A few things stand out to me, but curious what others think. The ALT/AST have risen, the CBC looks a little suspicious to my untrained eye. The urine is very dilute and of course, they didn't actually culture the urine(grr).

@Wendy&Neko @Marje and Gracie could I bother you to look over the labs in the SS and let me know if your more experienced eyes see something I don't. This bean would be very grateful.

Hope all the kitties and beans are doing good today.

 

[Squalliesmom]

The truth was a bit comical and should prove easier to fix.

That is pretty funny, lol. He may have a hard time stepping over the higher-sided box, though, so putting a low-sided one out was a good idea. Glad he seems somewhat better and is still eating well! Sorry I can't help much with the labs; I do know the ALT/AST are liver enzymes, and it looks like his white cell count is a bit high, probably from the UTI. But don't take that as gospel, wait for someone else who really knows what they're looking at to weigh in! It wouldn't have done any good to do a urine culture if he's on ABs, they can't culture his urine until he's been off the ABs for at least 10 days, 2 weeks is even better. I'm glad you're surviving the "sanity challenge", lol!

 

[saltycat]

He may have a hard time stepping over the higher-sided box, though

That's kind of what I'm thinking now that he is using the temporary test box. The other box is a big 20gal rubbermaid tote and already had a low entrance cut in the side, but he peed right at the entrance then jumped out which might have been a little painful. Initially I did the big tote since he had elevator butt and would start squatting then slowly rise up, hopefully the meds mean he can keep popping a squat in the super low sided box.

He got put in AB after the BW / Urinalysis. They have cultured in the past, not sure why they didn't this time. Vet has not impressed me recently and no call back about the weight loss which was the big concern. 14 days he gets another urinalysis to see how the AB does (Orbax).

I can see some changes in the BW, and research each test, but putting the puzzle pieces together is beyond my pay grade too!

 

[Doodles & Karen]

Sorry about the LB messes and clean up I hope he continues to use the low sided boxes. When Doodles had neuropathy the LB issue was a nightmare. We changed to all super low boxes and added more to the house. Not sure how long the gaba takes to really help but hoping that is the ticket for Jack. Moo won't get on the baby scale so I hold her and get on mine. Sometimes there is a good 2-6oz fluctuation. There are a few suspicions about his BW in respect to kidney function but I certainly don't know enough. Sending vines and prayers for Capt. Jack

 

[Squalliesmom]

That's kind of what I'm thinking now that he is using the temporary test box. The other box is a big 20gal rubbermaid tote and already had a low entrance cut in the side, but he peed right at the entrance then jumped out which might have been a little painful. Initially I did the big tote since he had elevator butt and would start squatting then slowly rise up, hopefully the meds mean he can keep popping a squat in the super low sided box.

He got put in AB after the BW / Urinalysis. They have cultured in the past, not sure why they didn't this time. Vet has not impressed me recently and no call back about the weight loss which was the big concern. 14 days he gets another urinalysis to see how the AB does (Orbax).

I can see some changes in the BW, and research each test, but putting the puzzle pieces together is beyond my pay grade too!

I wonder why they didn't do a culture this time? I would have thought that would have been pro forma! Hope you hear soon about the weight loss, but don't panic yet, remember that there is bound to be some variance between the two scales. I'm with you about reading the labs, beyond my paygrade, too, lol!

 

[saltycat]

The scale has been surprisngly accurate usually pretty close the vet scale. He has big poops so maybe he was a little light due to that. One reading, just like bg doesn't get me going these days. A trend downward would definitely get me back to the vet quickly.

Not sure how long the gaba takes to really help

Same here, I would assume within a few days since it is not a opiod and probably takes a few days for it to build up in the system. He tried to bury a pee, the first time in a LONG time he has done that and seems to be preening a bit more. Both good signs in my book. I think the 25mg he initially got prescribed is a little low/conservative, but with or with the doc, I can slowly raise it if needed but not exceed the recommended max which was 100 or 150mg(I forget now). I added in 10mg at night to help even things out, its half life in humans is 5-7 hours and probably less for cats. I prefer a steady blood concentration versus a constantly fluctuating one.

I wonder why they didn't do a culture this time?

Me too. Vet didn't earn any brownie points this week for sure. I'm no biologist, but even I know about gram positive and negative bacteria and the basics about antibiotics. Seems she just kind of threw the "well this is for UTI" treatment at it, without knowing for sure what we are dealing with.

 

[Squalliesmom]

its half life in humans is 5-7 hours and probably less for cats

Yes, it probably is less; cats' metabolisms are about three times as fast as a human's.

 

[carfurby (GA)]

Glad you figured out the lb issue. I hope Jack keeps using the low sided box. Hopefully the gaba is helping.

 

[Marje and Gracie]

last condo

The last few days have been "the litterbox & bean sanity challenge". He is on AB for a UTI which I am assuming was a part of the problem. He was making an absolute disaster zone of the pantry where the LB's are. I was spending close to an hour a day cleaning up after him, not fun before kitty breakfast and coffee.

I had enough, I set up the camera again to figure out what was going on. I thought he was just getting used to using the pads since some mythical pixie would come and put new ones down. The truth was a bit comical and should prove easier to fix. He must be getting senile, he would stick his head in the box, without stepping in... and do his business all over the floor. It would run down the grout lines going all over the place.

I put a small low sided temporary box in front of the entrance to the main box. This worked for a day, he would stick his head in, and box number 2 would catch the pee. Now he is using the low sided box and so far(paws crossed) no accidents. I hope the trend continues.

He seems a bit better on the gaba, I added a small night time dose during dinner. He is still eating well. Last night he weighed in at 12lb, I hope it is an anomoly since he was 12.4 a few days ago and I don't have a baby scale to accurately weigh him.

Got the rest of the BW from the vets office. No call back from the vet about the results after her voicemail. A few things stand out to me, but curious what others think. The ALT/AST have risen, the CBC looks a little suspicious to my untrained eye. The urine is very dilute and of course, they didn't actually culture the urine(grr).

@Wendy&Neko @Marje and Gracie could I bother you to look over the labs in the SS and let me know if your more experienced eyes see something I don't. This bean would be very grateful.

Hope all the kitties and beans are doing good today.

I’d be happy to in just a little bit. Thanks for your patience.

 

[saltycat]

Whenever you have a chance
Appreciate an experienced set of eyes looking it over. The biggest concern is him losing weight. He eats a lot but just doesn't seem to be getting the calories in him.

He started a 10 day orbax treatment for the uti. Started probiotic at the same time. Started gabapentin about a week ago.

Let me know if you have any questions and thanks for popping in.

 

[Wendy&Neko]

What time of day was the blood/urine taken? The Urine specific gravity looks rather low to me, but it can be lower if it's later in the day and he's been drinking a lot. How is his litter box output volume compared to usual?

I would keep an eye on his HCT, it's trending down, though OK for now.

Sorry for the short summary, but DM broke her hip today so I'm mostly "out of pocket".

 

[saltycat]

He had breakfast at 7:30, fasted until vet visit at 3pm. The urine stuck out to me as well, we deal a lot with SG in fish tanks and that is getting close to normal water. He was avoiding the box which made it hard to tell, but with the new box looks pretty normal. High for a controlled diabetic, but I believe it is the acro that is keeping the output large.

Sorry to hear about the DM. hips are no fun, had a few grandparents do that too. Hope everything goes good and she can keep her spirits up.

 

[Bobbie And Bubba]

Hey there! Sorry, but your description of what was going on with Jack was so darn funny ( I know, not for you and the clean up) But, so glad he seems to be using the low sided one and hope that the gaba helps.

I don't have baby scales either, and I have had as much as .4 minus and then the next few days later, he'd be right back to where he was. The weighing the bean and the cat together and subtracting isn't real accurate. And I don't always weigh at the same time a day which I am sure could make a difference too.

So sorry to hear about Wendy's mom and hip and hope that she will rebound.