12/29 Ivana BG=86, vet visit, and photos of course

[Tara & Ivana (GA)]

Last post

Hope all kitties and beans had a wonderful xmas!

We are back home from Ivana's vet visit, for a general check-up. Her blood pressure was 160, up a little since last visit but still not a bad number. Phosphorous has dropped as has urea, and calcium is almost exactly the same. PCV/HCT is also stable, and no change with USG. The only stand-out is that creatinine has increased, so that will be tested again in 4 weeks. Vet indicated it can be influenced by food, and yesterday during the day Ivana did not eat much at all (very hot day here), although she finished all her day's food during the night. Anyway, we'll just see how it is next month, vet seemed pretty happy with her results today so I'm not concerned.

Ivana also had some tartar buildup on her teeth/gums, which may have contributed to her random higher BG numbers lately. Vet got the chunks off and also gave us a cat toothbrush with some cat toothpaste, with instruction to brush every day (hah!). Due to her age and health an actual dental is not the best idea, so hopefully this will help. Do wish us luck, as putting my finger inside her mouth seems like a suicide mission to me, I hope she doesn't mind it too much...

Here's some pics of Ivana practicing her Blue Steel look while we were at the vet waiting for her test results this morning. We're expecting a call from the modelling agency any day now

Hope everyone has a fabulous New Year's Eve!

 

[Judy and Boomer]

Ah what a pretty girl!
Nice BG! Good luck brushing her teeth!

 

[LizzieInTexas]

Ivana looks like a teddy bear! How adorable.

Yeah, good luck with the teeth brushing. Lol.

 

[carfurby (GA)]

Love the pictures. I've read it's best to start with your finger and work you way up to the brush. I tried briefly with Furball, but she wouldn't go for it. Good luck.

 

[Tara & Ivana (GA)]

I've read it's best to start with your finger and work you way up to the brush.

I will definitely be YouTubing "How To Brush Your Cat's Teeth" for some hints and tips! The brush is actually quite soft, and goes all the way over your finger for added protection from pointy teeth biting down - we got this kit. I suspect that Ivana will probably follow in Furball's footsteps, but it's worth a try.

 

[suki & crystal (GA)]

Love the pics, she really is a star. Bonne chance on the teeth cleaning exercise!

 

[AZJenks]

Looking good Ivana!

 

[granadilla]

Good Whole cat report, and looking as lovely and fluffy as ever!

Good luck with brushing her teeth!

 

[Olive & Paula]

Oh I see the modeling agencies knocking at the door!! Good report overall. My kitties didn't take to brushing. I did get Tripper use to letting me wipe her teeth with a wet gauze when she had the bartonella, once it cleared no way would she let me near her. Check the toothpaste, a lot have sugar or sweeteners in it.

 

[Tara & Ivana (GA)]

Check the toothpaste, a lot have sugar or sweeteners in it.

We looked through the ingredients with the vet, and she said it's fine. It does have some weird form of sugar in it but apparently it doesn't get absorbed by the body or raise BG like regular sugar. I plan on testing before we brush, then again shortly afterwards, just to make sure. And the toothpaste is poultry flavoured, ewww!

 

[Olive & Paula]

Ewwww is right.

 

[Kako & Tux]

Oh oh oh what a pretty girl Ivana is!

 

[sarahtee]

And the toothpaste is poultry flavoured, ewww!

Poultry flavoured might be just the right incentive It did make me to think about cat toothpaste flavourings...
Good to know Ivana's in good health, Tara.

 

[Tara & Ivana (GA)]

Poultry flavoured might be just the right incentive It did make me to think about cat toothpaste flavourings...

I had no clue there was even such a thing, and I jokingly said to the vet "So, what shop would sell cat toothbrushes and toothpaste?" and she said "We do!" I nearly fell over, you really can buy anything you need these days!

 

[Tara & Ivana (GA)]

Oh oh oh what a pretty girl Ivana is!

We think so too

 

[Bron and Sheba (GA)]

Lovely pics.....
Glad most of the blood tests were good.
Have fun with the teeth cleaning. Have you got one of those finger stalls to use as a tooth brush or an actual tooth brush?

 

[Tara & Ivana (GA)]

Have you got one of those finger stalls to use as a tooth brush or an actual tooth brush?

It's a finger one that covers your finger and has soft bristles on the end. We're giving her a couple of days to recover from having some of the tartar/plaque removed at the vet (she did not like it one bit, even hissed which she has never done at the vet before), then we'll probably start tomorrow.

 

[Tricia Cinco(GA) & Harvey]

Just got home from our holiday trip and was happy to see my Ivana fix was posted! Lovely and stately, as usual.

Good luck with the tooth brushing. We have a collection of different brushes (including the finger ones) and toothpastes (yup, chicken flavored), collected through the years from a hopeful dentist. Never was successful with any of the cats. I hope to start our next crowd early on so they are used to it. We'll see how that works out!