5.14.15 Zoey amps (219)+9(191)PMPS(286) Pedialyte or something?

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:bighug::bighug: thanks for the quick update. been worried. hang in there Zoey, all of LL is pulling for you and your caretaker beans!! lots of love and vines
 
Woo hoo! Prayers were surely answered last night. I hate to even type these words, but Zoey came really close to being put to sleep last night. She could not breathe, she would have to push up to get air, she was lethargic and limp and ... it was bad. Really, really bad. She had not urinated but once yesterday, she was drinking water and there was no longer any water build up in her legs. I couldn't take it anymore and said we needed to do something and DH -- God bless him -- said no, that we hadn't given the medicine time to do its thing and we needed to get her through the night. I was crying, he was crying ... it was bad. He sat in the recliner with her and we propped her up on him where fluid would drain down and he held her water bowl for her to drink from and syringe fed her. We tested her like normal and figured it was our last night with her because we honestly did not know if she would make it through the night. About 3:30 this morning he came to bed and said she was wanting down but was doing much better. I went to check on her in her corner area and I made her a pad that was elevated with her heating pad under the soft blankets and she closed her eyes and we went back to sleep. At 6:00 this morning, she was bright eyed and ears perked up, looking at us. She is still weak, but even after her Trilostane, she is coherent today and has sat and watched birds and got up to check out a piece of fur that was floating by (don't judge... LOL). She has shown some interest in eating on her own as long as she sees one of her sisters eating from the bowl first so she knows it's not more medicine that we're feeding her. She has had a sneeze here and there for the past few days and it's increased and her nose is somewhat runny today so we stopped at the vet's office and Dr. Google approved some Clavamox for her to take. We started her on that as soon as we got home and she's had a vaporizer treatment to help with any congestion and will probably get another round before bedtime.

She's far from out of the woods, but from where she was last night? ....nothing short of a miracle turnaround!

I will stop back in at some point tonight but for now, I've got a ton of chores to complete before nightfall. Please keep sending those prayers and vines -- they mean the world to us.

Sure hope all of your furbabies are doing well. They've all been in our thoughts and prayers as well as you wonderful beans who care for them.

Thanks y'all!
 
Rose said:
watched birds and got up to check out a piece of fur that was floating by (don't judge... LOL).
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:D:D:D:D:D I'm judging - and by my judgment that is a very good sign! ;)

So glad to hear she's hanging in there and hopefully the meds are working. Thinking about all of you!:bighug::bighug::bighug::bighug::bighug::bighug:
 
Rose said:
She's far from out of the woods, but from where she was last night? ....nothing short of a miracle turnaround!
Click to expand...

Prayers and healing vines that the miracle continues and Zoey grows stronger each day. Please you and DH take care of yourselves as well. I can only guess at the degree of emotional turmoil you have been through the last few days. (((HUGS)))
 
I couldn't take it anymore and said we needed to do something and DH -- God bless him -- said no, that we hadn't given the medicine time to do its thing and we needed to get her through the night. I was crying, he was crying ...
Click to expand...

...and I'm crying reading this.

she is coherent today and has sat and watched birds and got up to check out a piece of fur that was floating by (don't judge... LOL).
Click to expand...

... and then cracking up reading this.

Glad to hear of her improvement. Sending more vines to and prayers for Zoey.
 
:bighug::bighug:You and your DH are so strong, happy to hear that together you got Zoey through the night. And today she`s watching birds and checking out fluff. What a kitty!! Continuing prayers...
 
OMGosh -- I couldn't write that story while I was working ... tears still flow. We're so thankful she made it through the night; but tonight's another night:

When she had an appetite, Zoey was on a diet of about 6 ounces of food per day. We've been feeding her some higher carb food in an effort to keep her BGs from dropping. We've given her the Mertz (?? -- appy stim) but she's still not wanting her food. She fights us hard to try and syringe feed her and I can see the side of her mouth is kind of sore looking from probably being fed last night and this morning. I've been using my finger to push some food in her mouth when I feed her (I hate the syringes) but she's really fighting us, quite strongly now, to avoid us putting anything in her mouth. How long before the Mertz kicks in? She ran one of the kitties off their food before I gave her the mertz, but she only took a few bites before stopping. DH says it appeared to him that she's eating on one side of her mouth. It makes me wonder if she's not sore from the syringe feeding and her mouth hurts. I've given her the mertz (I don't remember if that's the name or not) but I hate to give her any pain meds in case it counteracts the stimulant we're going for.

Any ideas? I'm worried about her not eating enough and adding liver issues to the assortment of hurdles she has to jump. I've fed her .5 ounces of food, force fed, and I've left her an assortment of 3 different .5 ounces of foods on a tray and an entire jar of beech nut chicken and chicken broth. Of course she's looking at me like I've poisoned them all, but I did not add any of her pancrea powder to them. I'm afraid that maybe she's had a reaction to that (because I googled it and read a man's post that his cat's mouth got sore and he had to wait an hour after putting the enzymes on the food before feeding -- I wait 20 minutes.). So ... can I give her pedialyte to drink or anything like that that will help add calories to prevent her from going hungry and all of the slew of issues THAT can bring?

And while I'm asking questions: I'm giving Zoey some steam treatments for nasal congestion. I've put a vaporizer in with her crate set up (it's pretty long so there's lots of room) and I've put a heavy blanket covering the entire thing. I put her in for about 10 minutes (once the steam builds up ) and then take her out. Is there anything in that procedure that would cause anyone reading this any concern? There's nothing that I can think of that could hurt her, but I wanted other minds thinking about it, too. Mine is kinda numb. I know we're not supposed to use menthol with cats -- is there anything else that might help? Herbs, maybe?

I'm going to grab a nap while her numbers are good and give her a break away from me and see what she does. I'll check back in a bit.

((hugs)) for each of you. :bighug::bighug::bighug::bighug::bighug::bighug::bighug::bighug::bighug::bighug::bighug::bighug::bighug::bighug::bighug::bighug::bighug::bighug::bighug::bighug::bighug::bighug::bighug::bighug::bighug::bighug::bighug::bighug::bighug::bighug::bighug::bighug::bighug::bighug::bighug::bighug::bighug::bighug::bighug::bighug::bighug::bighug::bighug::bighug::bighug::bighug::bighug::bighug::bighug::bighug::bighug::bighug::bighug::bighug::bighug::bighug::bighug::bighug:
 
Oh Thank God for your report--your DH--What a keeper he is! :bighug::bighug: One day at a time, breath by breath!

Sometimes it is helpful if you gently hand feed a kitty as soon as they wake up from a deep sleep as it is their natural instinct to eat upon waking. I've had to do this with Tiger when she was in the worst of her pancreatitis flares. I'm wondering if Zoey is nauseated? If she's nauseated, no way is an appetite stimulant going to help her eat, more likely, it will cause a food aversion. Cerenia and/or Ondansetron both work well for nausea. AndI know you hate to have to call Dr. Doom & Gloom, but have you tried Cypro before starting Mirtz? Cypro has the additional side benefit of being an antihistamine.

Many hugs, tons of vines and continued prayers for you, Zoey and DH!
 
I'm so pleased to hear Zoey made it through the night last night. And I'd say that even her fighting the syringe feeding might actually be a good sign in some ways - she does need to eat but if she's got the strength to really fight you that's also positive in some ways. If she's eaten even a few mouthfuls of food on her own, that really is a good start - maybe she'll go back for a little more later on.

I'm not sure about the pedialyte with the fluid build up she had recently - that makes it seem as though dehydration isn't too much of a problem for her at the moment. I think I might keep trying her with the baby food - maybe if it was warmed up just a little she might be more tempted by it? I've not tried doing that myself - all the cats here LOVE baby food (who'd have thought it) and the time I had to buy it for Rosa I was fighting them all off to make sure she got some first...and then split up another couple of jars between all the rest of course - can't have anyone feeling left out. :rolleyes:

And tons more prayers and vines. :bighug: :bighug: :bighug: :bighug:
 
I don't know about pedialyte or steam, but going back to the Mirtz and eating...if Zoey is nauseated, as Ruth said, the appy stimulant isn't going to work. Do you think the ER would be willing to prescribe anti-nausea meds for you? Also, the clavamox can definitely cause appy and tummy issues, too (after just one dose, my civvie Petey wouldn't touch a speck of food for 24 hours - he only had the one dose because of how it affected him)...yet another reason to consider adding in an anti-nausea med.

Our prayers continue...
 
Sending tons of vines for Zoey. What a fighter she is! I'm not sure about enclosing her in a blanket tent with a vaporizer. Will there be enough air in there so as not to suffocate? (just a thought/reaction; I am not familiar with such a set-up). I hope Zoey will rally again tonight and that you and DH can relax a bit. Baby food is probably your best bet.

:bighug::bighug::bighug:

Ella & Rusty
 
Sending more vines your way for Zoey. You are doing an amazing job Rose and DH.:bighug: I've heard of people putting kitty in the bathroom with shower on for steam when they are stuffed up, maybe 20 minutes.

If you go the way of assist feeding you might want to see if the vet has some Iams Max Cal. It's LC, and gives you a lot of calories in a smaller amount of food. Plus easy to assist feed. I've also fed Royal Canin Recovery RS which is pureed and easy to assist feed. It's LC but lower calories than MaxCal.
 
praying... praying.... praying.....

they do make a kitty electrolyte....
Virbac rebound oes
nad then there is also Virbac Rebound Liquid diet....
probably not diabetic friendly ... I bought some after one of our cancer kitties.... she told me about it so I grabbed some off of amazon....
maybe, just maybe you can find something similar..

there is also those kitty milk things they sell at pet stores and sometimes grocery stores.... they tend to be at least 11% carbs or higher...
but they are calories... and most kitties absolutely like it...

so back to

praying....
 
An option for congestion is preservative-free eye drops, such as Systane or generic. Tears drain through a duct, down through the sinuses, so if you put a drop or two in the eyes, it main drain through and loosen up any congestion, allowing it to be discharged.
 
I would stick with the simplest things that you know are ok for cats - plain steam, meats, cat foods/products.

I wonder if her eating aversion is related to her sensitive skin, ie, if the lining of her mouth has any tears or wounds that is making her not want to eat. It would make sense that her mouth may be as tender/fragile as her external skin.

I'm not sure about pedialyte but unless I was sure it was ok, I wouldn't give it to her. Ditto with any of the other people products that aren't known to be ok for cats - if you're not sure, check with dr. google before trying it. Even if you don't like him, I just wouldn't assume a people product is ok for a cat.
 
Some formulations of pedialyte (and other human foods) contain Xylitol which is toxic to animals.
 
Vyktor has a sore mouth and reacts like Zoey seems to be to food - walk up sniff and walk away or maybe just a bite or two then walk away. I am having the most luck getting food into him as Ruth suggested - from a sleep. Every hour-hour and a half I take his bowl to where he's sleeping and hold it in front of his face and he seems to start eating without thinking about it. He often gets up and walks away for a little bit after (I think it's a pain reaction) but on his way back to his spot I can generally get him to have a few more bites. If he doesn't walk away and just stops I can still generally get a few more bites into him by giving pets until he's purring and then holding the bowl back in front of his face again. Also sometimes when he's not taking the home delivery from the bowl I roll the food into little balls and he will take that by hand feed - without me forcing. He's not eating while I'm at work, he's not eating much through the night but by doing what I'm doing he is getting 3/4 of what he'd usually eat in a day into him.

:bighug::bighug: For you and DH and gentle scritches for the gorgeous Zoey.
 
oh my Rose; what a trooper and fighter is dear Zoey, and you and your DH; what a formidable pair you are!! I really can't offer any medical advice, but will add piles and piles of vines and prayers and best wishes for all of you. What a difficult night you made it through. Zoey couldn't have better beans, above and beyond in so many ways. Tears flowing here just recounting that story. As many hugs as can squeeze through these intertubes and soft, gentle scritches for Zoey. :bighug:
:bighug::bighug::bighug::bighug:
 
Thank you all. I just cannot ever say that enough. Really. So many wonderful things I learn each and every day!

The "sauna" is Zoey's latest spa treatment. It is an add-on to the rest and relaxation package of epsom salt baths and coconut oil rubs. And of course, she loves it. When we first put her in there, she turned away from the steam. After a few minutes and figuring it all out, she turned into the steam. Once she came out of the steam, she was ready to eat. Like her old self, ready to eat. Her lack of eating must mostly be a congestion issue and not being able to smell. We put her in for about 15 - 20 minutes at a time, as needed. She's been getting them, as of this post, about every 4 - 5 hours. If I put the food in with the steam, it really kicks up the smell and she'll clean the bowl. The bottom of the crates are not covered so if she wanted to, she could put her nose towards the bottom and be out of the steam. (About six inches). She chooses to stay in the path of the steam and I'm sure it's because she understands the relief it's bringing to her.

She's continuing to get stronger and stronger. She walked a good 20 feet today before resting and she was no where near as wobbly. We are cautiously optimistic.
 
:):):bighug: well now Zoey; aren't you the pampered girl? Perhaps you can get your nails done at the high end spa as well?!:smuggrin:
This makes me happy and amazed. This girl wants to be here. She is a tremendous little fighter and again, you and DH are equal to her spunk and spirit! So glad to hear she's eating well again!! Continued vines and prayers for all of you. GO ZOEY!!
 
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