Brianna & Xander
Member since 2024
Previous thread: 9/30/25
It's been so long and so much has happened that I'm not even sure where to start.
His numbers are terrible right now, and I think it's a combination of several different factors (the biggest of which I've added as dividers on the sheet, so you can kind of see where things are happening).
Transdermal gabapentin didn't seem to do much, but the buprenorphine made a massive difference. It took that 3x/day and Mirataz to keep him eating for a while after we started it. One night the Mirataz apparently worked especially well, because he broke into a box of (plain) glazed donuts and chomped through probably half a donut.
That kept him >400 for a solid day and resulted in some gnarly trips to the litter box. Poor dude was very obviously miserable and I doubt that half a donut was worth it.
When we ran out of the buprenorphine, he stopped eating again and was clearly uncomfortable. Back to the vet we went. She said that he was mostly healing well, but there was one spot that still seemed stubborn. She prescribed us some more buprenorphine and okayed us continuing that with the Mirataz for now, and some sugar-free, chicken-flavored liquid gaba that he'd be more likely to eat than the crushed pills. She also prescribed another antibiotic that she thought would be gentler on his stomach than the others we've tried. We also got that in a chicken-flavored liquid for the same reason (but it was not able to be sugar-free). It wasn't better than the others, though, so after a couple of days of it making him feel noticably worse, she instructed us to discontinue it and just give the Proviable Forte we already have for a few days. He's still having soft poop (though hopefully slowly improving), so I've been continuing that.
For context in regards to the next "event," Xander's "spot" is that sliding glass door, which is really the best window he has. We've set up a bird feeder there specifically for him, he has his perch, blanket, etc. It's become his favorite spot to nap and eat and it's where he gets his injections now - he loves it so much there that he happily jumps up and gets his insulin like a champ, which is really a big deal for us, because injections have always been a fight. So about a week and a half ago, a random cat (dunno if stray or just not neutered) has started climbing onto our second story deck, terrorizing Xander and spraying the door. I've only seen it happen twice, but both times Xander's been very distressed during and then for hours afterward, meowing and running back to see if the cat has returned. Closing the shades and turning off the light doesn't do much. A few days ago I started to notice that his whole area was smelling like spray (and now it's so strong it can be smelled across the apartment), so clearly it's been coming back when we're not near the door too. I know that Xander isn't peeing to attempt to "counter-mark," so the smell isn't coming from him. But even he and his perch stink now, despite this happening on the other side of a door that stays closed.
Since the smell got bad he's seemed very depressed and doesn't enjoy his spot as much anymore. He doesn't sit on his perch and watch the birds, he mostly crouches underneath it and stares. Sometimes he doesn't even face the window. There's a big difference between how he was in that spot and how he is now and it makes me so mad and sad. That's his one spot and we'd made it so special for him. I know it's just a cat being a cat, but at the same time, eff that cat. He has the whole world to explore; he doesn't need to ruin Xander's spot for him.
On Saturday we went nuclear with the "eff this." Have tried several different products to get rid of the smell (the Nature's Miracle advanced enzymatic cleaner, a Clorox urine remover, etc) after scrubbing the screen, glass and wall down with water. It may have helped a bit, but the smell's definitely still there. We got some 30% white vinegar that we're going to try next. We also put up some garden fencing along the edge of the roof that I think he's coming from as a physical barrier. (If I'm wrong about where he comes from it won't stop him, but we can't put more of it because it will be more noticeable and we'd probably be told to take it down.) Also sprayed some citrus-scented cleaner and Nature's Miracle No Spraying stuff around the edges of the deck, the roof, etc as an extra deterrant. So far I haven't seen him come back, and I don't think the smell has gotten worse, but I'm not watching it all day.
Oh, and I forgot about the stupid time change. Fortunately it worked out being that it's backwards, but it meant we were an hour late.
So all of that - mouth still seems to hurt, but buprenorphine helps, antibiotics messed him up pretty badly, and now stress from a random a-hole cat I think are the causes of his terrible numbers. He had a few reductions recently (and now an increase), but I think this is the other stuff and not (just) bouncing.
Part of what took me so long to post was that while my own spreadsheet was up to date, I had to adjust all the data to put into the forum spreadsheet and I just never had the energy. I normally do it at a computer and lately I've been spending 95% of my time at home with Xander and not near one. I find it annoying to do this intensive kind of spreadsheeting on a phone, so I tend to fill it in minimally but not with the remarks written out, etc. It's done now though and I'm hoping I can do a better job keeping up with it.
Going to try to go through some posts now and see how you're all doing!! I've missed connecting with everyone.
A couple shots of Xander being sad in his spot, and two cute ones from before that all started as a palate cleanser.
It's been so long and so much has happened that I'm not even sure where to start.
His numbers are terrible right now, and I think it's a combination of several different factors (the biggest of which I've added as dividers on the sheet, so you can kind of see where things are happening).Transdermal gabapentin didn't seem to do much, but the buprenorphine made a massive difference. It took that 3x/day and Mirataz to keep him eating for a while after we started it. One night the Mirataz apparently worked especially well, because he broke into a box of (plain) glazed donuts and chomped through probably half a donut.
That kept him >400 for a solid day and resulted in some gnarly trips to the litter box. Poor dude was very obviously miserable and I doubt that half a donut was worth it.When we ran out of the buprenorphine, he stopped eating again and was clearly uncomfortable. Back to the vet we went. She said that he was mostly healing well, but there was one spot that still seemed stubborn. She prescribed us some more buprenorphine and okayed us continuing that with the Mirataz for now, and some sugar-free, chicken-flavored liquid gaba that he'd be more likely to eat than the crushed pills. She also prescribed another antibiotic that she thought would be gentler on his stomach than the others we've tried. We also got that in a chicken-flavored liquid for the same reason (but it was not able to be sugar-free). It wasn't better than the others, though, so after a couple of days of it making him feel noticably worse, she instructed us to discontinue it and just give the Proviable Forte we already have for a few days. He's still having soft poop (though hopefully slowly improving), so I've been continuing that.
For context in regards to the next "event," Xander's "spot" is that sliding glass door, which is really the best window he has. We've set up a bird feeder there specifically for him, he has his perch, blanket, etc. It's become his favorite spot to nap and eat and it's where he gets his injections now - he loves it so much there that he happily jumps up and gets his insulin like a champ, which is really a big deal for us, because injections have always been a fight. So about a week and a half ago, a random cat (dunno if stray or just not neutered) has started climbing onto our second story deck, terrorizing Xander and spraying the door. I've only seen it happen twice, but both times Xander's been very distressed during and then for hours afterward, meowing and running back to see if the cat has returned. Closing the shades and turning off the light doesn't do much. A few days ago I started to notice that his whole area was smelling like spray (and now it's so strong it can be smelled across the apartment), so clearly it's been coming back when we're not near the door too. I know that Xander isn't peeing to attempt to "counter-mark," so the smell isn't coming from him. But even he and his perch stink now, despite this happening on the other side of a door that stays closed.
Since the smell got bad he's seemed very depressed and doesn't enjoy his spot as much anymore. He doesn't sit on his perch and watch the birds, he mostly crouches underneath it and stares. Sometimes he doesn't even face the window. There's a big difference between how he was in that spot and how he is now and it makes me so mad and sad. That's his one spot and we'd made it so special for him. I know it's just a cat being a cat, but at the same time, eff that cat. He has the whole world to explore; he doesn't need to ruin Xander's spot for him.
On Saturday we went nuclear with the "eff this." Have tried several different products to get rid of the smell (the Nature's Miracle advanced enzymatic cleaner, a Clorox urine remover, etc) after scrubbing the screen, glass and wall down with water. It may have helped a bit, but the smell's definitely still there. We got some 30% white vinegar that we're going to try next. We also put up some garden fencing along the edge of the roof that I think he's coming from as a physical barrier. (If I'm wrong about where he comes from it won't stop him, but we can't put more of it because it will be more noticeable and we'd probably be told to take it down.) Also sprayed some citrus-scented cleaner and Nature's Miracle No Spraying stuff around the edges of the deck, the roof, etc as an extra deterrant. So far I haven't seen him come back, and I don't think the smell has gotten worse, but I'm not watching it all day.
Oh, and I forgot about the stupid time change. Fortunately it worked out being that it's backwards, but it meant we were an hour late.
So all of that - mouth still seems to hurt, but buprenorphine helps, antibiotics messed him up pretty badly, and now stress from a random a-hole cat I think are the causes of his terrible numbers. He had a few reductions recently (and now an increase), but I think this is the other stuff and not (just) bouncing.
Part of what took me so long to post was that while my own spreadsheet was up to date, I had to adjust all the data to put into the forum spreadsheet and I just never had the energy. I normally do it at a computer and lately I've been spending 95% of my time at home with Xander and not near one. I find it annoying to do this intensive kind of spreadsheeting on a phone, so I tend to fill it in minimally but not with the remarks written out, etc. It's done now though and I'm hoping I can do a better job keeping up with it.
Going to try to go through some posts now and see how you're all doing!! I've missed connecting with everyone.
A couple shots of Xander being sad in his spot, and two cute ones from before that all started as a palate cleanser.
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Why must this other cat come into his safe space! There’s so many other places around, I hope they’ve found another place to mark their territory. 
lovely to see pictures of him all cuddly. Hope the cat stays away, the smell dissipates, and the numbers come down safely. 
